Born in Siberia, Russia, Alyona developed a love for drawing when she was a little girl but didn’t have the financial opportunity to develop her young talent. When she was eight years old, an American lady invested some money for her to go study in art school, after which her parents were able to help her study for an additional seven years.

 

Alyona started high school while continuing to study hard in art school. Here she started learning different techniques like working with clay, pencil sketching, watercolor, composition, and many other methods. During this time, she participated in different art competitions and won several awards.

 

Alyona loved art school so much that she decided to go on to study sculpture and interior design. But the requirements in order to be accepted in the university went against Alyona’s values since part of the pre-exam was to draw naked bodies of men. Because of this, Alyona decided not to pursue this path but rather go study media production in America. There she also met Shane (one of the founders from GG2H) and they became good friends.

 

“I believe that if God sees the potential in a person and has lent them skills to use for His glory, He will also give them an opportunity to use them in a different way,” Alyona says. “Like with me, I never got along very well with computers, and was behind in my development with technology compared with other classmates, but studying media ministry in America revealed to me God’s purpose in giving me an opportunity to study in art school. Everything that I’ve learned—concepts, techniques, etc.—I’m using right now in graphic design and photography. I’m amazed at how God can take my skills to a different level, combining art and media, and He has shown me how powerful it can be if you use it for His glory!” 

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