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Olya Kivlin
Originally from Ukraine and now based in Perthshire, Olya is a multidisciplinary artist whose practice brings together graphic design, ceramics, plaster casting and sculpture. Since making Scotland her home, her work has evolved into a visual conversation between Ukrainian cultural heritage and the wild landscapes of Scotland. Through tactile, hand-crafted objects, she explores themes of nature, memory, displacement and belonging, creating pieces that invite quiet reflection, human connection and a sense of comfort.
Aesthetic
Olya's aesthetic is rooted in the textures and rhythms of the natural world. Botanical forms gathered from the local landscape merge with echoes of Ukrainian folklore, decorative traditions and symbolic motifs to create a distinctive visual language that feels both ancient and contemporary.
Raw relief surfaces, warm monochromatic clay tones and expressive, minimalist forms give her work a gentle, earthy quality. Whether sculpting botanical plaques or imagined clay guardians, each piece balances rustic materiality with refined design, offering a tactile, welcoming presence that celebrates resilience, place and storytelling.
Practice
Working intuitively and almost entirely by hand, Olya describes her process as thinking through her hands. She forages local plants across Perthshire, pressing them directly into clay to capture their delicate textures before transforming them into ceramic and plaster reliefs. Each object begins as a simple lump of clay and develops slowly, guided by the material itself. Natural clay surfaces are often left exposed alongside carefully hand-painted details and occasional glossy glazes, allowing every piece to retain its own unique character.
Alongside her studio practice, Olya is an artist-educator and facilitator at The Workshop Perth, where her background in process-oriented psychology and art therapy informs her approach to creativity. She views making as a restorative, transformative process and shares this philosophy through inclusive workshops for children, adults, older people and those with additional support needs.
Olya's personal practice and community work are inseparable, united by a belief in the healing power of art, slow making and meaningful human connection.
Location & Links
Perth
