ARTI GRAS CANDLES FOR UKRAINE

STORY BY KYMBERLY DONOWSKI PHOTOS BY AUDRA SPEARS

Eclectic artist Olga Grant exhibits her beeswax candles at art shows across the Southeast

AArti Gras candle and soap artisan, Olga Grant comes to this year’s juried art show at Russell Crossroad with a mission to channel the pain inherent in her homeland’s war crisis into a passion that is creating positive change.

“I’ve learned when you think positively, you create positive vibes,” said the artist who is looking not only to create positive vibes at the lake but also to bring much needed help to the people of Ukraine. “I was born in Russia, during the Soviet Union.

I think we were happy because we didn’t know any better. But, during the ’90s, things were worse. I remember having dinner. It was pasta and some sort of preservative from our garden, like pickles. They would have these coupons that were given to your family. You’d stay in the lines for about a day and a half. You’d switch with your family members just to fulfill these food coupons,” she explained. Grant learned not only the full weight of being thankful but also the importance of community and helping neighbors. Despite the difficult living conditions, Grant’s family taught her to find refuge in nature. “We lived in a big city, and my parents would take me every summer to go camping in tents. We would go completely into the forest by the bank or a river for a week or two. My mother would teach me about herbs, collect herbs to make teas or add to some food. We would go fishing and eat what we got from the river because we didn’t have a refrigerator, so we couldn’t keep it. You get absolutely connected with nature – now, they call it meditating. But I was a child. I didn’t know,” she said. Her appreciation for nature’s peace and beauty has kept her grounded through many changes in life, including gaining citizenship in the United States and moving to Alabama.

“When I got here in Alabama, it reminded me of where I grew up. It’s the same landscape as the rolling hills. I can smell the scent in the air, and it smells very sweet here. I try to recreate it in my candles. That’s my feeling, you know, I try to project it into products and show how I perceive the world,” she said.

Moving to America gave Grant the opportunity to rewrite what she was told she was capable of as a child. America allowed her to dream and explore what she wanted to learn.

“A lot of people come to America to start a better life. After one year, I’d completely fallen in love

Grant donates funds from candle sales to support Ukraine

She forged strong connections with scents of nature as a child in Russia

Grant will show her candles July 2 and 3 at Arti Gras at Russell Crossroads In addition to Grant's candles, the juried show features pottery, jewelry, works in wood and more

with the States. America has the most freedom I have ever experienced. If you want to be somebody, you can. I came here and decided to reset and start fresh,” she explained. “I had to learn to trust people again, so I decided I wanted to do something with my hands. I decided to make candles because people like candles. It was a hobby at first.”

From camping as a child to traveling as an adult, scent became a way to scrapbook her impression of the places she’s seen and experienced.

“When I’m creating, I’m trying to share what I have seen and what I have felt in different countries,” Grant said. “When I grew up, they wouldn’t let us go to church because practicing religion wasn’t allowed by the Soviets. But we, as kids, would sneak and look into the windows. We would go to the church without telling anyone, even if we didn’t understand what was going on. We would go and look at all the magic.”

These adventures showed Grant that a candle could strengthen sacred moments and bring comfort to the viewers. She has tried to instill her love and reverence for beeswax in her candle scents and designs.

“Beeswax is very special to me. I’m Orthodox Christian. If you think about the Catholic Church, they burn pure beeswax candles. It’s what they do in the Russian church, too. They would have lots of pictures of saints, and when the candles were lit, they would sparkle. So when you were praying, it would almost be hypnotic. It was very spiritual. Beeswax smells of honey and pollen, but when it’s burned, it reminds me of this church.”

Recently, Grant has found it difficult to be proud of these connections to her past. The actions of Russian president Vladimir Putin have not only harmed the country of Ukraine but more intimately, many relationships on both sides of the Russian/ Ukrainian border.

“People constantly ask me where I’m from because of my accent. Now, I hesitate to answer because Russians are immediately seen as bad. I say, ‘Sorry, I’m Russian.’ I’m very ashamed of what my country is doing right now. My best friend of 40 years, I grew up with her, and we were like sisters. This has destroyed our friendship. That was the real wake-up call for me because I understood it was real.”

The reach of the war has affected her frame of mind, even from far away.

“I just was sick and tired of worrying, and I have friends from the Ukraine, and I feel directly connected. They’re telling me about how their houses and cities have been destroyed. I wanted to do something to help,” she said.

So Grant drew on her skills and connected to scent for inspiration, using her talent and love for candles to help raise money.

“I thought people could enjoy a candle. They can think about the people in Ukraine and pray when they’re looking at the candles because, you know, that’s helping; and then, the money can go to helping the refugees.”

Grant works mainly with Into Freedom, which works with the Frazier Church in Montgomery and the missionary Frazier Church. She also partners with Samaritan’s Purse because she can see just where the help is applied. These organizations have personal connections in Ukraine, and Grant purposely sought out organizations that could have big impact.

Visit Grant and more than 50 other local artisans July 2 and 3 at the annual Arti Gras event on the Town Green at Russell Crossroads. From spectacular photography to jewelry, reclaimed wood bowls, furniture, organic berries, jams and jellies, birdhouses, sculpture, pottery and more, every piece of art harbors an artist’s story. Arti Gras will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday.

Grant’s candle creations also are available online at jimshillwaxworks.com.