My art is a symbiosis of the cultural heritage I came with from Bulgaria and my new life in America as an artist who works exclusively with pressed leaves. Nature not only gives me the material to work with, but also inspires me with its creative power and beauty. With my art I try to give new dimension and new life to objects from Nature. Many images and motifs in my compositions come from memories of real places and impressions. Others are born from my imagination and desire to improvise, mix, and transform. My pieces are colorful or black and white, two- or three dimensional, entirely created with leaves or combined with other natural materials such as flowers, seeds, wood pieces, etc. I try to capture and keep their unique colors and texture and I do not use any kind of paint or artificial colorants. A new direction of my art is combining clay and pressed leaves. Through my natural impressions, abstractions or folk motifs, I try to transcend messages of beauty, peace, and harmony. The creative process itself is inspiring for me, and I am constantly led by the ambition to discover something new, to experiment, and to improve. I value originality on any level. Craftsmanship and meticulous care for details are important to me. I believe in the transforming power of art and its ability to make people better and more spiritual. I believe that Art links Man with God - the Body of Clay with Heavenly Soul.

Pavlina Panova was born in 1959 in Bulgaria where she had a successful career as a published author, literary critic and teacher in Bulgarian Language and Literature. From early age she had a great affection for her native language and knew that her life would be connected to the world of words, spoken and written. Overcoming many dramatic social changes and challenges, she always followed her dreams and ambition for higher education, creative and intellectually productive life. After graduating from VT University, she organized public lectures and open mike events, established writers clubs for children and adults. Her biggest achievements were the founding of Educational Center and publishing of three books. In 1999 she and her family came to America and since then they have been living in Irving. She did not speak English and felt deprived of her basic and best tool for communication – words. In order to cope with this handicap, she enrolled as an ESL student at North Lake College soon after her arrival. Almost parallel to that she started creating simple pictures with pressed leaves and became passionately involved in this new artistic way of expression. In 2000 she became a member of Irving Arts Center which gave her the first opportunity to participate in an art exhibit. After a few years of experimenting with pressed leaves and other natural materials, she realized that she needed more knowledge about art for developing her style. In 2007 she went back to North Lake College as a full time credit student with the intention of studying Art and English on a higher level. She gained not only practical skills, but also theoretical knowledge which has influenced tremendously her work. Since then she have been transforming and applying some drawing and painting techniques in her work with pressed leaves. For the last few years she have been actively working in a new direction - combining clay and leaves.

The Cameron Gallery
7/27/2008
Dallas, TX
United States

Carrie Garner Galeria d'Arte
7/27/2008
McKinney, TX
United States

Fort Worth Community Art Center
7/24/2011
Fort Worth, TX
United States

Craigheadgreen Gallery
8/5/2011
Dallas, TX
United States