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M ORE THAN TWO YEARS AGO, artist Vira Ustianska and her daughter Vasy arrived in San Diego to begin a new, uncertain chapter in lives interrupted and upended by the war in Ukraine. Soon after the bombs began to fall, they fled to Poland, forced to leave loved ones behind, including Ustianska's husband, a civilian who repairs airplanes. eir harrowing journey, five miles on foot in freezing weather, was punctuated by bomb blasts flashing around them. ey eventually reached safety and remained in Poland for five months where Ustianska, a talented and prolific artist, continued to paint: 100 works in those months alone. Invited by sponsors to come to San Diego, they arrived here in late August 2022, but that arrangement was short- lived. "At the beginning, we had difficulties, and as if by a miracle, we met Connie [Terwilliger]," Ustianska recalls. "She became our support and savior." ey had no place to go until Terwilliger, a successful voice-over talent, announcer, and actor, learned of their plight. When the war broke out, she had offered to donate, through Airbnb, a spare room in her Kensington home to help out a refugee. Months later, a refugee coordinator contacted her. Ustianska and her daughter moved in. For nearly three years, Terwilliger has opened not only her home but her heart, providing them with food, shelter, transportation, financial support, encouragement, and so much more. "She became a guide to American life, the world of art, a patron, and a family," says Ustianska. anks to her support, the artist has created 300 paintings, many now in private collections, and shown at ten events, with more to come. Mother and daughter now each have their own rooms in Terwilliger's home where the garage is an art studio, filled with paintings and supplies. Terwilliger publicized their story in the media and reached out to her contacts in the art world, theater, real estate, and restaurants. Pacific Sotheby's in La Jolla, Compass Real Estate in Kensington, Writer's Ink, e University Club, and Lamplighters eater (where Terwilliger performs) are among the many organizations that have displayed Ustianska's work. e artist is also making contacts, joining associations, visiting galleries and museums, and taking part in art shows, including the upcoming 4th Annual ArtWalk in Carlsbad September 21-22. Her plein air painting of the main concourse at this year's San Diego County Fair, painted on the spot and judged the same day, took first place in the oil/acrylic category. She has captured scenes along the La Jolla coast, where Ranch & Coast's Vincent Knakal photographed her recently for this issue. But perhaps her favorite subject is the sunflower, the national flower of Ukraine. Years ago, she began an ambitious project with the goal of painting 1,000 sunflowers, and since then has completed 184. No painting, just like each flower, is ever the same. "Why 1,000 sunflowers? Every time I work on one of the 1,000 paintings in this project, I immerse myself. I am discovering new sides of myself, organizing a system, acquiring a more mature formula of self- awareness," the artist writes. "After all, maybe this is the meaning of life, the meaning of transformation from a young sunflower fluttering its petals into an organized system of seeds. Maybe this is the whole essence of true existence." For an exhibition featuring ten of her sunflower paintings at the Poway Center for the Performing Arts, Ustianska also wrote a story to accompany each of the paintings, "Vira is not only a talented artist, but her depth of feeling about life constantly amazes me," Terwilliger notes. As the war in Ukraine drags on, the future of Ustianska, now 36, and her nine-year-old daughter remains uncertain. ey would like to go home, of course. And Ustianska dreams of one day opening her own gallery to support Ukrainian artists. "My hopes for them are to be reunited with their family in a place that is free and safe," adds Terwilliger. "ey are welcome to stay with me until a choice can be made." viraustianska.com @ranchandcoast RANCH & COAST MAGAZINE AUGUST 2024 87 Vira Ustianska and Connie Terwilliger Vira Ustianska with daughter Vasy VIRA USTIANSKA AND CONNIE TERWILLIGER: PHOTO BY VINCENT KNAKAL ALL OTHER PHOTOGRAPHY: COURTESY PHOTOGRAPHY