LYDIA BODNAR BALAHUTRAK is a Houston painter whose roots are in a Ukrainian community in Cleveland, Ohio where her family emigrated in 1949. Ukrainian was her first spoken language and, as an artist, she has developed a profound identification with her heritage. She is a graduate of Kent State University with an MFA from George Washington University.

The artist states that, in her paintings "I have a compulsion to imprint myself on the Ukrainian culture and place myself in its history." In doing so, she draws on the rich legacy of the Ukraine with its literature, music, folk customs and religious beliefs.

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