Illustrator:  Meet Nataliia

The Drama behind the Story

Addie’s Eyes was written to be an entertaining and inspirational story for all ages.  But it hardly compares to the inspiring story behind the scenes of its creation.

When author Tim Landry was seeking an illustrator to collaborate with him to tell the book’s story, his search led him to a talented lady named Nataliia Kretsu, a Ukrainian artist with a deep passion for visual storytelling. Born in 1984, she studied at the Art and Music School of the Yampil Humanitarian Lyceum in the Vinnytsia region and at the Ushynsky South Ukrainian Pedagogical University in Odessa, where she developed a strong foundation in classical art.  After more than twenty years as an art teacher, she began devoting herself full-time to illustration in 2019.  She lives in Odessa.

Addie’s Eyes was an unexpected partnership, given that Nataliia speaks little English, Tim speaks no Ukrainian, and there is a nine-hour time zone difference. Still, her enthusiasm and talent beckoned Tim to try to make it work.  And a creative association soon blossomed.

But language and time differences were the least of the challenges:  

Nataliia lives in a war-torn country.  Her husband is “gone,” presumably lost in the war, and she has two children.  All through the creation of the twenty-four illustrations for the book, she would have to endure the stress of rockets and drones flying overhead with the occasional explosion added for punctuation.  She often worked on artwork for the book in her bathroom, an interior room where she could be away from potential flying glass from windows.

And yet somehow the work managed to bring her joy, something to take her mind from the dark things happening around her.  She enjoyed the notes and guidance that Tim gave her and was appreciative of his openness to her own ideas. The creative process was an escape for her.

Sometimes her electricity would go out, along with the internet, and communications with Tim were severed for days at a time.  Occasionally, she would have to retreat to the local bomb shelter.  The locals track incoming drones on a phone app so that they might be able to dodge them, and the Ukrainian military often shoots the drones down.  But their dreadful sound is like whirring moped locusts flying overhead.

Nataliia was not immune to the stress and occasionally found herself in a hospital for medication to help manage her stress.

Yet through it all, with Tim’s encouragement and cheerleading, this intrepid lady finished all 24 illustrations. And it is work she can be proud of.  What’s more, she enjoyed the back-and-forth conversations and looks forward to the next project with him.

Recently she relocated out of the city so that she would be less of a target, and is visiting relatives in the center of the country.

I’m sure you’ll join us in prayer for Nataliia and her children and praise God for His mercies as we thank Him for the blessings and inspiration we find in knowing a lady named Nataliia.