VARYA'S ART BIOGRAPHY

Varya Witlin
Memoir of Roy and Varya's Marriage, A Comedy of Transcendence, available for purchase on Amazon Books
SELECTED SOLO AND JOINT SHOWS
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Upcoming: Opera Central Gallery, St. Petersburg FL (solo)
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Unitarian Universalist Church, Clearwater FL (group show)
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City Gallery, Charleston SC (solo)
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Gibbes Museum of Art, Charleston SC (joint with Roy)
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Piccolo Spoleto, KKBE, Charleston SC (solo)
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Jefferson University Common Art Gallery, Philadelphia PA (solo)
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Philadelphia Sketch Club, Philadelphia PA (solo)
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Montezinos Gallery, Philadelphia PA, (three person show)
More Accomplishments
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Published: A Comedy of Transcendence, Memoir of Roy and Varya's Marriage
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Founder and Joint Director, Regional Children's Art Show, North Pinellas FL
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Published Five Research Articles and Two Case Studies, American Journal of Art Therapy
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Teacher, Graduate Art Therapy, Hahnemann Medical University
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M.S. Degree, Mental Health, Hahnemann Medical University
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Registered Art Psychotherapist
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ENVIRONMENTAL ILLNESS: In 1990, I was diagnosed with Multiple Chemical Sensitivities. At that time I had been painting with acrylic paints, but I had become so sensitized to those and other art materials that I could soon do no artwork at all. Even drawing with writing pencils caused a sensitivity reaction. Over time I became stronger, and was eventually able to use children’s drawing sticks and school watercolors. Today, after painstaking avoidance of sensitizing chemicals, I am able to create pictures using Sennelier oil pastels, Rembrandt colored pencils, guache and, most recently, Treehouse walnut oil paints. There have been few art shows and work is slow because I can easily be resensitized, but I am emerging from that long dry spell. Now I have immeasurable joy in being able to do artwork again, expressing my ideas in the vibrant media available to me.