Lesia Pona was born in the city of Lviv in Western Ukraine. She received her first lessons in traditional embroidery from her mother at young age. She attended youth art school and later continued her education at the Institute of Applied Arts in Lviv, where she learned weaving techniques and silk painting. She later worked as a carpet and Gobelin tapestry maker.
In the early 1990s, she met with a famous folk embroiderer who was a member of the League of Ukrainian Folk Art Masters. She introduced Pona to the world of “Whitework” embroidery – made with white yarn on white fabric. Her mentor taught her many traditional techniques—some of which are all but forgotten today, and embroidery became Pona’s preferred medium.
Lesia lives in Kolomyia, Ukraine—the gateway to the Carpathian Mountains and the Hutsul ethnic region.
