NATALIA HANDOGA

Art Teacher

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Natalia was born and raised in St. Petersburg, Russia, and moved to Philadelphia in 2023. She received her Master’s degree in Communication Design from the Saint Petersburg State Academy of Art and Design.

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For many years Natalia worked in the advertising industry, collaborating with major agencies before becoming Head of the Creative Department at Lenfilm (Russia’s oldest film studio) where she fell in love with the world of cinema. In recent years,  Natalia has been working as an independent digital illustrator, creating artwork for books, advertising campaigns, and key art for films, TV series, and music releases. She collaborates with well-known international productions such as Universal Music and Netflix. Here, in the US, she joined the NOWART agency, creating murals for public spaces from train stations and hospitals to local shops.

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Since most of her professional work happens digitally, Natalia loves encouraging kids to explore hands-on, “unplugged” art techniques that can’t be done on a computer,  like collage, pop-up, or working with natural materials such as pebbles, leaves, and flowers. A fork or a straw instead of a paintbrush? Absolutely! Tearing instead of cutting? Crumpling instead of folding? Why not! She often focuses on graphic composition and form, helping students discover the beauty of line, shape, and rhythm,  not just color.

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Natalia has a 9 yo daughter, Agata, who is her favorite art assistant, always ready to test new materials and sometimes even come up with better ideas. ))

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In her free time  Natalia enjoys biking, which turned out to be quite a challenge in the hilly landscapes of Pennsylvania after years of living in the flat city of Saint Petersburg.

 

Natalia's Digital Portfolio: https://www.artstation.com/handoga