Natalie Boburka has been a resident of the Capital District off and on for the past 48 years.  She has been living in Round Lake in a cute Victorian cottage since 1994 and continues to do so with her husband, dog, and pride of cats.  She has been teaching art for the past 21 years and still loves her job.  She doesn’t know why more people don’t pick jobs they love.  She has been playing with art for the past 34 years.  When she retires she will pursue art full time, travel,  write more poetry, take long walks in the woods, and stay up late painting and listening to cool music.  Currently she is co-owner of Boburka Studios with her husband (musician/artist Ted Boburka) located in Jay Street Studios at 163 Jay Street, Schenectady  NY.  She is one of the founders of Jay Street Gallery and can be contacted through e-mail at boburkastudios@yahoo.com or on Facebook.

Artist Statement:

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“This is Now” was a piece driven by fear and the desire to get in the zone despite tremendous distractions.  It was also a culmination of several different branches I’ve explored artistically for the past 15 years.   During the summer of 2008 we were squatting in our old studio in Center City on State Street, waiting for the wrecking ball to take us out.  We had packed up everything so we could leave within a minute’s notice, literally, although the actual moving took us about 6 hours with friends help.  The new studio location was continuously behind for the move in schedule, and we didn’t want to have to move twice so we stayed very quietly (hard for a drummer!) holed up in the cold studio.  I kept out one large box of oil pastels, rolled a piece of canvas to fit the center table, and worked for months under the constant threat of instant relocation.  I felt like I threw off a heavy blanket every time I walked in, rolled up my sleeves, and plunged elbow deep in color.  I kept two mantras to keep me focused.  They worked.

Remember what you have learned.

There are no rules.