Author: Helen Polishuk

10th anniversary

Helen Polishuk Leave a comment

Today I’m celebrating a small anniversary.
It’s not exactly important or interesting to you, but for me, it’s a special date.
No, it’s not the birth of a new child or a happy life in a married family.

This isn’t the date after some surgery and the beginning of a new life, nor is it Valentine’s Day.
It’s not moving to another country or buying a new house.
Although, if you take all of these factors and mix them up and overload them, they all influenced the date I’m talking about today.
Back in 2016, after I completely decided to step away from filmmaking on a film crew and go out on my own and return to professional art education, I chose several directions for myself. One of them was classical landscapes. The second, very expanded and popular, was abstractionism. I’ve explored many styles in this field and love creating my own works.


But today we’ll talk about the third—my favorite. This direction is decorative art and folklore.

It’s as easy as always—I sat down, browsed the styles I liked online, tried them, studied them, practiced, and off I went…
Isn’t that right?
Back in 2016, I couldn’t have imagined that I would feel so comfortable and happy in this field. I couldn’t have imagined that there would be years when I would be captivated by this movement and creatively empowered.

Exactly 10 years ago, I began painting Petrykivka, a traditional Ukrainian style called Petrykivka.
Over the course of 10 long years, I’ve created over 80 works in this style.
This included bold ideas, a search for my own direction, and studying the works of famous Petrykivka artisans.
In 10 years, I didn’t expect such a boom in the popularity of this art form and the multitude of master classes and drawing courses in this style.
Perhaps it all stems from the fact that, while studying this art form, I constantly want to improve myself. Even now, when much time has passed and I return to my first works, I find that they can be improved, and I want to do so. But that’s the beauty and originality of them: they are magnificent in their original form, not in their perfection.

If we take the first year, 2016 in particular—it was a special year.
And it’s special precisely because I didn’t create anything more beautiful or magnificent than that year.
Imagine how painstakingly I worked on each image.
And from that year until 2018, I worked exclusively with oil paints. Acrylic was a cheap material for me. I neglected it.
Only after 2018 did I begin painting with acrylics, and only acrylics, due to health issues and the fact that I didn’t have a separate, air-conditioned, and warm space where I could paint with oils.

I still want to go back. There’s nothing better than painting with oil paints. It’s the perfection of artistic experimentation.
So, back in 2016, the first Petrykivkas were 11 x 14 inches, and there were several of them.
Two of them immediately flew to Europe that year and are now in collections there.
And the rest—you can see them in the video at the link.

This small anniversary is a celebration of creativity and love. It is patience and creativity. It is a splash of color and the realization of ideas. It is a small victory.

Power of Words

Helen Polishuk Leave a comment

to shoot into the silence to say – I exist, I still live. I write, I create, I help, I work, I am a mother, a woman, a writer, and I love you, my dears.

Spring has arrived, bringing with it movement and a changed pace of life. The days have lengthened, and it’s gratifying to realize that my workload has increased dramatically and that more pleasant events are taking place.
Several exhibitions with my presence have already been confirmed, meaning paintings will be unpacked, refreshed, and seen by many visitors in Toronto galleries.
There will also be time for movie theaters and film screenings. Tomorrow, our entire women’s group is going to see a film in the city. It’s a pleasant, festive feeling, as three generations of us walk along a Toronto sidewalk.
Next week, there are many celebrations in which I will be participating both as an organizer and as a participant. This is also gratifying, as it brings me great pleasure to create a creative state for people.
I had barely announced the start of the children’s drawing contest when children from all over the world began sending in their drawings. And it’s so nice—my dear children! You are incredibly talented, and your drawings are wonderful.

What I’d like to tell them is to continue drawing throughout your life. It’s not just a hobby, it’s also a state of mind—creating is wonderful. I understand that behind every drawing is not only the child, but also their mother. And together, they are great. This develops talent for life. Of course, they will receive thanks, but mutual attention is highly valued here.
Another piece of news is my interest in poetry.
And today I’ll reveal a secret.
Actually, it’s not even a secret. It’s work. Video and audio format. It was created for an exhibition.In celebration of National Poetry Month this April I created a video film with the poetry of a talented, magnificent, unrivaled… and my favorite poetess Joy Harjo .I chose her poem Cricket Song.

I just sent my work to the competition jury, and it will be performed in April.
A few words about the author. JOY HARJO-she’s an American poet whom I first met last year at a writers’ meeting at a Toronto library. There wasn’t a single empty seat in the room I attended. She spoke about her work on stage, read poems, and answered questions. I bought her book CONFLICT RESOLUTION.

Generally, I rarely do this. Besides, I don’t like revolutionaries, I have a negative attitude toward politicians, and I don’t like it when they create trendy clubs and manipulate people’s minds. I also disdain advertising. And here is a woman, a wonderful poetess, whose poems are the threads of nature, woven into life. Born here on this earth, imbued with this wind and dust, food and disease. This is the root of this tree. And I felt her breath. And today, I supported her.

That’s how, in short, my work on her poetry came about.

In conclusion, I want to say that sometimes I feel that the world is very small and some events that happen to us are not entirely random.

Below I give you a link to my work, which will be broadcast next month.

Auto Show 2026

Helen Polishuk

How quickly almost two months of 2026 have flown by.
And all because, in the Canadian winter, most city events, like people’s lives themselves, slow down and retreat to apartments and houses. This means people are less interested in events, go outside less, socialize less, and the events calendar has been rescheduled until the end of March, when the sun warms up more or less and exhibitions, events, and meetings begin.
And festivals, especially street festivals, which are popular in Toronto, are held from June or late May. Such are the wonderful nuances of life here in Toronto.
However, there are exceptions.
One of these is the annual International Auto Show, which is held in Toronto’s most prestigious venue in Metro Toronto Convention Centre.

Situated in two separate buildings connected by a long bridge, on three spacious floors, this weekend it brought together the entire population of Toronto and surrounding cities.

I would like to point out to you right away that the exhibition runs until the end of the month, that is, until the end of this week, and anyone who can or wants to attend should hurry.

As a frequent visitor to this exhibition, I’d like to invite everyone, even their families, to come.
There’s plenty to see.
Magnificent collector cars, from Audis to miniature cars, collected by a Canadian family and lovingly displayed.
All of this is located on the ground floor of the main pavilion.
The oldest exhibits, the oldest cars, are also there, and are on display at the Ontario Museum of Automobiles.
I’d like to point out right away that when cars first appeared and replaced horse-drawn carriages, they were magnificent, very spacious, and distinguished themselves from modern cars by their simplicity, comfort, and large size.

Now, a century later, everything has changed so much that on the same ground floor of the main pavilion, a modestly displayed mini-car is electric, fits one person, and is representative of the modern metropolis. It’s a mix of bicycle and scooter, rechargeable, doesn’t require gasoline, and is advertised as completely green, which is hard to believe, as electricity isn’t green either, and is even more controversial than gasoline. Does such a car have a life? As the smallest car, it already has its place in history.
And ascending to the main floor of the main pavilion, to the prestigious showrooms of Mercedes, Audi, Toyota, Nissan, Kia, and Jaguar, it’s impossible to miss the central space dedicated to Tesla. There’s also a Tesla robot, along with clothing and accessories from a leading brand. There are many buyers, and the prices aren’t cheap. Mercedes showed off a large truck where you can drive, travel, sleep, and cook. This is a first, and only at this show.
In general, I want to point out that car prices have suddenly increased.
There are many people interested in the new models.
What’s noticeable is that during times of depression, car colors become brighter. Today, too, there’s a very vibrant color range.

Apparently due to competition, almost all companies created bright colors, from pearlescent green to bright red and gold.
The two most expensive cars in the showroom were gold.
The Bugatti was the most expensive car in the showroom.

There were a lot of people. Families there.
And for me, already familiar with the panorama of cars, I liked many of the exhibits. Of course, I wanted to play games, win prizes, drink delicious German coffee, take motorcycle selfies with the collection of Japanese motorcycles on display, and ride a Jeep in a special area—they had set up adventures for the Jeep, and you had to wait in a very long line to sign up for the Jeep driving challenge.

I didn’t wait, so I left it for those more patient.
Overall, I got a huge boost of energy.
Don’t forget, the exhibition is only open until the end of this week.

New work

Helen Polishuk

The New Year has opened up new possibilities for my paintings. It’s a breath of fresh air with a change in style and direction. And I succeeded with my first work.

Though winter’s chill lingers, “Blossom” captures the hopeful promise of spring. This original acrylic painting celebrates the return of sunlight, the anticipation of blooming trees, and the warmth of brighter days ahead. It evokes a sense of faith in new beginnings.

Created with acrylic and ink on canvas, this piece showcases a fresh artistic approach. The finished sides allow for frameless display, making it a versatile addition to your art collection. The small size makes it ideal for adding a touch of nature to a cozy corner or smaller wall space.

“Blossom’s” botanic subject and blend of classicism and art nouveau styles create a timeless appeal. Its photorealistic touches bring a modern sensibility to this classic theme. Imagine this painting bringing a breath of fresh air to your home or office.

Invite the optimism of spring into your space with “Blossom.” Add this unique, small-sized acrylic painting to your collection today and let its beauty brighten your surroundings.

Blossom at https://www.saatchiart.com/en-ca/all?query=helen%20polishuk with SPECIAL price under 500$.

A Spotless Rose

Helen Polishuk

How do you imagine the winter solstice 1,200 years ago? Let’s think about it together and imagine it. No electricity, little heat, only large semi-stone houses heated by fireplaces. No television, radio, or the information media that fill our world today.
There are candles, there is a calendar fixed by priests, and there is faith. Yes, there is faith and the teaching of the cyclical nature of the year. There is faith that after the winter solstice, which hid the sun in darkness, the sun will come, the light will come, and a new year will be born. The days will begin to grow longer, there will be more light every day, and the world around us will begin to fight and resist darkness and fervor, death and destruction, in order to come to life. As in ancient times, so now, at this time they begin to sing carols – sacred songs reminiscent of the singing of birds, the sound of a stream, the rustling of trees and, most importantly, accompanied by a special ritual proclaiming the beginning of a new year and the arrival of light, spring and warmth.

Now imagine today, 1,200 years later, with the stage of Jeanne Lamon Hall at Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre (427 Bloor St W) illuminated by candlelight, and the Toronto Consortium Choir once again collaborating with outstanding students from the Schola Cantorum of the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Music on “The Flawless Rose: 1,200 Years of Christmas Carols,” an inspiring series of Christmas carols.

An action that takes us back 1200 years or vice versa, an action that revives for us Christmas, the birth of a new light from darkness, preserved and reverently restored carols that announce the most terrible and dark day and call for light and sun that will conquer the darkness.

As a consistent admirer of everything the Toronto Consort does, I would like to commend this evening as a wonderfully orchestrated collaboration between two talented conductors.Les Arts Florissants’ co-director of music, Paul Agnew, has joined Daniel Taylor as conductor of ensemble.

It was a play of darkness and light, a choir in the dark and a choir in the light. Two wonderful conductors. It was wonderful, as the wonderful singing of carols by the wonderful soloists was complemented by the stage interpretation of the action. And it was so beautiful, dynamic, subtle, and refined. This is that love of culture, that tradition of passing on ancient heritage. There were many young people in the audience, many students from the University of Toronto.
Vichel Praetorius,Orlando Gibbons,Nicolas Gombert,Gustav Holst,Benjamin Britten,Herbert Howells music was playing.

A time of night’s dominance, when the day seems shrouded in shadows. The sun recedes to its furthest distance and seems to freeze in the silence of death: in these difficult times, it is difficult to understand that this is Sol Invictus, the Invincible Sun. A candlelit carol ceremony. A reflection on birth and rebirth, the importance of these concepts for transmission to the next generation.

….Perfection is achieved,not when there isnothing more to add,but when there is nothing left to take away….

( Antoine se Saint-Exupery)

I look forward to the next meeting with Toronto Consort.

Fiery Year

Helen Polishuk

The New Year is galloping by in all its glory and unbridled speed.
Maybe it’s just me feeling like the days are flying by faster than they did a few years ago?
Apparently, as I get older, I find myself wanting to just sit and do nothing, look out the window, read a book, watch the birds chirping outside, admire the flowers I grew myself, play with my grandchildren, and simply pass the time.
I can’t say I get tired of it.
On the contrary, it brings me more and more pleasure with each passing year.
The fiery fortnight of January has already passed.
The red fire horse will soon enter its domain, and the year is shaping up to be the year of the red fire horse.
And I’m still going through my work, looking at my sketches, analyzing what I’ve created in recent years, what’s good, what I don’t like.
And I read and listen a lot.
I’m especially interested in the most pressing topic: art management. An artist studies, creates, and produces to be sold.
This is the artist’s main motivation. Even in the most difficult financial situation, an artist dreams of selling their works and turning them into capital.
No matter how difficult this may be in today’s circumstances, one must constantly analyze and improve oneself through study to keep up with fashion and trends.
I want to harken back to the early years of my creative work, when I created my paintings without much emphasis on sales, but many of my paintings have become collections of cultural centers after numerous exhibitions of my work.
Today, much has changed, and what I especially want to share with you is my desire to expand the potential of each work to maximize its sales potential. So now I’m calculating whether I should buy equipment and create additional products to popularize my art, or leave everything as is due to my poor financial situation. After all, that would mean upfront payments, investments, and investments in a future no one knows.
We didn’t know that in 2019 and 2020 we would be in quarantine, and then in a major financial crisis. In times like these, saving is better than spending.

It’s a leap, but I’d call it a risk.
Another thought occurred to me: I’m holding myself back more and more.
I’m becoming slower and slower. And I’m less and less willing to change anything; I’m giving up so many things, even beyond my capabilities.
Oh well.
Let this fiery horse gallop. Good luck to him and everyone in this fiery year.

If you translate the word “fiery” and look for its synonyms, it perfectly describes the first days and weeks of the new 2026 year.
We don’t expect any surprises this year, but rather a rather unpredictable one.

The Teeth

Helen Polishuk

I won’t tell you how important our teeth are for us. They are our healthy body, our mood, and our peaceful life.

Today I had my tooth treated. Nothing special, except that I’m a dentist and I used to work there and treat others’ teeth. Now I’m a bit old and can write and talk about it. In my practice, they used different filling materials and anesthesia, and the approach to treatment was different. There are many other innovations and inventions now, but the main thing remains: a healthy tooth is always better than a dead one.

Yesterday, I just bit into a piece of meat and felt the tooth with the filling crack. It cracked so badly that the filling was still in place, but half the tooth was loose. And a real burning sensation started around it—pressing it became painful. I skipped dinner and decided to fast because chewing was so difficult. And it wasn’t a molar, not a front tooth. It was a lateral tooth. Such a tooth has its own characteristics. It always consists of two roots and two nerves. All night I imagined it, trying to guess where and how it cracked.

If it’s cracked in the middle, treatment may involve its removal, as the two roots will separate. If it’s cracked laterally and deeply, the nerves need to be removed and the canals filled. And when there’s inflammation, like mine, this procedure isn’t very gentle, as the inflamed nerve prevents treatment and will react. In those days, when I was practicing, arsenic was used. It helped quickly kill the nerve and give the dentist access to the cavity. Arsenic is no longer used.
Therefore, the procedure itself isn’t very gentle.
I slept peacefully and didn’t feel any pain, although I need special treatment—I have a low pain threshold, I’m very patient, and I tolerate pain, even if it’s very severe, like renal colic or appendicitis. So don’t ask me if it hurts. I won’t answer this question very well. I’ll probably say, “It’s bearable.” And that would mean, “It hurts, damn, what are you even asking?”
This morning, I was already bracing myself for a trip to the dentist, as you shouldn’t wait more than 24 hours for a broken crown—it’s an emergency procedure.
And I agreed with myself that the tooth needs to be depulped, which will significantly accelerate its decay and quickly lead to its loss. The filling will be large, and a depulped tooth lasts a maximum of five years, after which it begins to decay, since a dead tooth has no calcification.

Just like that, a tooth gets lost out of nowhere.
It cracked. I’m over 60.
What does this mean?
It means that if we, those born between 1950 and 1980, start losing our teeth in our 20s, then by the time I’m 60, almost 50% of our teeth will be gone, especially those lateral ones. And then the worst thing will happen: to have a beautiful smile, people will start filing down and destroying adjacent teeth to put in cosmetic bridges, which in 5-10 years will take away more teeth. By my age and a little older—70—a person will end up with full dentures or, at best, implants.
The later fillings are placed on lateral teeth, the healthier the body and the longer a person’s natural teeth will last, and that means health. But if they crumble—and I’ve had two cases recently where my teeth simply crumbled. One sadly lost its nerves and now sits like a stump, awkward to bite on, but it stays in my mouth. And the second—just today. Suddenly, not from hard food, without any prior symptoms, healthy, and then suddenly it crumbled.
Does this mean there’s a problem with my system and a calcium deficiency?
Perhaps.
And not only that, in my region there’s a vitamin D deficiency, not enough sun, and my eyes are going blind—we live in the north and in a snowy country, where even perfectly healthy people begin to suffer from a lack of vital elements in the body.
And no matter how much scientists study this, no matter how many vitamin supplements they recommend, it doesn’t help us. I actually thought yesterday, driving back to Toronto at 4 PM, sitting in the car, that we’re unlucky with the sun, when I had to turn on the car lights because it was dark. The sun’s already gone at 4 PM. If it wants to shine in winter, it’ll come out for two or three hours and that’s it. Anyone who doesn’t get to enjoy it is unlucky. And it’s like that for six months a year. There are many winter days when there’s no light at all, it’s dark in the morning. And then there’s snow, blizzards, poor visibility, snowdrifts, and all that other stuff that’s so typical of Canada.
So, about teeth.

Take care of your teeth. Keep them healthy as long as possible – this is the key to your good health and your good mood.

Happy Holidays

Helen Polishuk

I congratulate you, my readers, on the upcoming holidays and wish you a Merry Christmas around a warm, friendly family table and a joyful New Year’s celebration.
May the year bring you the fulfillment of your desired dreams, many fulfilled plans, and a variety of events.

Helen Polishuk

The Toronto Consort .A Medival Christmas.A Father on the Breath of God.

Helen Polishuk

Each of those present felt the mystery and mysticism, the beauty of the sound of Hildegard von Bingen’s music .Her Symphonia armoniae celestium revelationum, featured soaring, mystical chants expressing divine light and cosmic harmony, distinct from Gregorian plainchant, with lyrics praising Mary, saints, and divine wisdom, including the famous morality play Ordo Virtutum, making her one of the earliest known composers with extensive surviving works that blend intense spiritual feeling with unique melodic lines, often linked to her prophetic visions and known to us as best medieval composer.Her melodies — wildly expressive, richly melismatic, and imbued with a profound spiritual imagination — feel timeless, as though she was channeling something far larger than herself.

Hearing this music on the Toronto Consort stage in December 2025 is a huge honor and a huge thank to the team of musicians who worked on the program.

Opening remarks by the President Heather Turnbull

This is monophonic music 12th century,which is imbued with her spiritual vision. These are unique individual musical lines that unite into harmony.

I want to say right away that those who attend and attend the Toronto Consort’s concerts, in all seasons, are fortunate admirers of Renaissance music, which this team of musicians so reverently creates and reproduces for Toronto under the direction of a wonderful, talented conductor Daniel Taylor.

On December 7, Toronto Consort Honorary Patron Dame Emma Kirkby returns to our stage for A Medieval Christmas – A Feather on the Breath of God and Her presence at this concert added a line of continuity between generations, care and love for the admirers of this music, and her singing is a separate admiration.This is a deeply moving Advent concert by the Toronto Consort, led by the legendary Dame Emma Kirkby.

I want to say that being an admirer of this team of musicians, helping them financially, and supporting them is important to preserving the traditions of Renaissance music.


That’s why hearing this a cappella singing is breathtaking, and the choir’s division into two parts and their union during singing is the height of pleasure. The audience feels as if they are drowning in the music, it flows from below and surrounds the hall on all sides.

Following centuries-old traditions and never changing them, Christmas is divided into pre-Christmas and post-Christmas caroling.

So, another magnificent post-Christmas concert awaits us.

Save the date—January 17, 2026 Trinity-St.Paul’s Centre,Jeanne Lamon Hall

Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre
427 Bloor Street West

,,A spotless rose”

Don’t miss out.
I’ll leave you with a list of concerts for next year’s seasons. There are several, but each one is unique. Allow yourself to savor the bliss and experience the splendor of Renaissance music.