CURRENT MISSION

To find collaborators and friends in Central Asia who want to share their understanding of their region with me. To escape the self-referential, insular, terrain of the NYC art world and to engage in dialogue with people working on foraging narratives and work that responds to the context that surrounds them.

ABOUT ME

I have had my hand in many things, the culmination of which places me on this winding road of life.
I sew, paint, build, garden, design, play and scheme.

For the past several years that I've been living in New York, my focus has been on working on interactive, participatory art/music projects as well as saving up some money working as a web designer/developer.
I am also part of a collective called Woodbine. Our mission can be loosely defined by developing a vibrant cultural/ecological infrastructure in the neighborhood of Ridgewood, NY. We host events, dinners, working groups, gardening projects, as well as engage with civic organizations.

Prior to that I lived in San Francisco, California and Oregon. Wworked more in the realms of landscape architecture, plants, environmental activism and things of that sort.

I was Born in Minsk, Belarus and moved to New York when I was nine years old, in 1994.

PHILOSOPHY

To be open, understanding and accommodating to people even if I don't see what they see. I meet people where they are at. I start from what we have in common and work from there. I believe that people know what's best for them more than institutions do. I seek to bring out with is alive in people.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

When I was younger I would travel a lot, participate in environmental and social activism. be a part of art collectives, build earthen houses, and hitch hike. From that I have gleaned wisdom from lands far and wide. Now that I have my own home base I want to extend this to others in order to be accommodating to their growth or at least help provide basic needs so that folks can focus on what ever they are trying to do while staying with me.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Have hosted many great people in New York, mostly Germans. Good fortune has also come upon me when I was in a pickle doing my bike tour through Italy, thanks to other couchsurfers who hosted me when I need a good place to lay my head.

Interests

Art that creates a wormhole in subjectivity and space/time,
Natural building,
Ethnography,
Regenerative Design,
Analog synthesizers,
minimal wave music,
Permaculture,
Urban homesteading,
Post-modernisim,
"Anarchy",
Crafting in general,
Medicinal Plants,
Wildcrafting,
Folklore,
Your story,
Non-violent communication ( NVC ),
People who are sharp as a tack.

• arts
• folklore
• architecture
• design
• gardening
• traveling
• socializing
• painting
• homesteading
• music
• cycling
• hiking

Music, Movies, and Books

>>Music my friends make,
otherwise; Minimal wave/ synthy/experimental music from the late 70's / early 80's as well as new things. Also interested in the combination of visual and sound elements. New media and forms of experiencing / representation.

Books: Contemporary philosophy, Deleuze and Guattari. Witchy things: Starhawk. Fiction: Ursila LeGruin, Joseph Cambell, etc

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Rode freight trains, and climbed to high places with friends. Looked into the eyes of strangers. Stood in the depth of the forest during the dark of night.

Teach, Learn, Share

Bike mechanics
Sewing and apparel construction
Herbalism and plant information
Web design & programming (My pay job)
Gardening /design skills
Carpentry
Co-counseling
Non-violent communication

What I Can Share with Hosts

Curiosity. A helping hand. A conversation about the things that excite us, and all points in between.

Countries I’ve Visited

Belarus, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russian Federation, Spain, Sweden, United States