When Natasha Mazurka was a first-year university student, she saw a beautiful and captivating painting by an older student.
At that moment, she realized that creating art was what she had to do.
Cities like Tokyo, New York, Montreal, Toronto and, in the spring, Ottawa, have had the pleasure of exhibiting the minimalist and hypnotizing pieces that Mazurka produces.
But the place she spends a lot of her time is at Algonquin, teaching.
Mazurka is coordinator and professor at the Introduction to fine art program where she teaches history and theory of art, and drawing. Teaching is something special for her because “we need to know where we are coming from,” and that way she can help people become positive influences for the world.
“I hope students see an open person,” said Mazurka, to see what an artist goes through on a daily basis because it is not what most people expect.
“It is easy to call yourself an artist, but it’s not easy to be one. You need discipline because most times you work alone.”
As sad as it sounds, art should be treated as a job and it is Mazurka’s duty to teach that because “you are your own boss.” The internet teaches that you don’t need to work because luck will make you an artist. In reality, you need to work hard and dedicate time to your passions to achieve amazing things.
For Mazurka, the most important things about art are the passion and the message the artist wants to express.
“She is very talented,” said Robert Hinchley, painting professor at Algonquin. “She always has good ideas and an interesting way of thinking.”
Art is for the curious people who want to tell stories in an original way.
“When you understand art, you understand culture,” said Mazurka. She wants to reflect her passions at school because it is full of advertisements and empty of art.
Mazurka wants to share with the student community how “images affect our thoughts” and they help improve the mood of the students at the college.
One way Mazurka influenced the look of the college was by coordinating the assignments “Collage” and “Pixelated Perspectives”; both found in second floor of B-building at the Ottawa campus.