Description: I live in a village where there’s no gas. All the warmth in our home comes from a wood-burning stove. In winter, I often light it with pieces of birch bark — they’re light, catch fire quickly, and carry the scent of the native forest. Sometimes, within these pieces of bark, I see forms — as if nature has already begun to draw. In such moments, I don’t rush to throw them into the fire. I pause. I choose the ones that ask to be preserved. This piece is one of them. The log it came from has burned, turned into charcoal. And it’s with that very charcoal that I drew what you now see. Everything here was born from the same material — both the surface and the line. The piece is called “At Church.” It depicts a gathering of people — silhouettes, figures, faces. At first glance, they seem unified, almost identical. But if you look closer, you’ll notice: each person has their own form, their own character, their own state of being. That, for me, is the essence — how a place of strength, like a church, brings people together without erasing their differences. This work is about silence, about the inner calm that doesn’t come right away, but lasts. It was born from ashes, from fire, from simple rural life — and became a symbol of peace that can be found in the humblest of things.