I am honored to be a featured artist on this website: http://www.guramidesigns.com. I met Regina Mann while I was in Chicago at the One-of-a-Kind Show and Sale in Chicago last December. Her website is dedicated to her late father’s artwork. Gurami Manasherov. He was born in what was then the former Soviet Union (Georgia). After a career that included extensive restoration, art, and interior design work, he escaped Russia in 1972 with his wife Mara and his two daughters. What made Gurami’s work look so different? His background. In Russia, he never had more than a handful of material to choose from, and the quality was often lacking and became quite proficient at recycling and problem solving. So if necessity is the mother of invention and creativity, we all need to thank the inefficient Russian economy for providing the skills and artistry that Gurami shared with us. I for one am glad that his memory and artwork lives on so that artists like me continue to be hopeful and inspired in this sometimes not so perfect world. I promise to continue expressing my own hopes, desires and feelings through my own artwork. I do this in hopes of making a difference, brining joy to others, allowing people to see the world through my eyes, my hands.
