Bright Stars
Artist Gallery
Maggie Oberc
Maggie Oberc, a native of a 13th Century city, Krosno (Poland), was exposed to great architecture and art through childhood. She found renovated and preserved sites of the late medieval and early renaissance buildings in her city mesmerizing, especially when she gained access to their attics full of “treasures” waiting to be given new form and purpose.
At the age of eight Maggie painted her first mural of “Care Bears” on her bedroom wall long before learning that mural art is actually a profession, as if she anticipated her own future. Over the years her bedroom walls and furniture served as canvases, changing colors and styles every season. During Maggie’s years at art school, she mastered designing furniture, sculpture, décor and fashion accessories. One of her most original works of that period was the creation of a five-foot tall leather human size sculpture.
Despite her art professors' discouragement to create this highly technically challenging sculpture, the project turned out to be a great success with many awards given for her innovation. The experience of producing something challenging revealed to Maggie that not only working with unusual media can be fun and creative, but also that no media can limit one's unsurpassable creativity. And decorative painting indulges both. In her earlier years in America, Maggie focused on designing and illustrating books and fine art.
A passion for decorative finishing awoke when she painted the murals of a Mexican restaurant in New Jersey. Her creative strength was entrusted with its interior design, and soon after she began two other restaurant projects. Maggie found multitasking projects of designing and decorative painting challenging, and yet she needed improvement. In a search for a good faux finish school to help master decorative techniques, Maggie traveled to Dallas, TX where her relationship with Faux Effects International began, and later took courses at the Studio in Vero Beach, FL,which improved hermethods even more. Presently, she continues her work on decorative and faux finishing projects and is thankful for all the knowledge afforded by the Faux Effects® organization.
Liis Schivley
Owner of Unique Finishes International, LLC, Liis Remma Schivley hails from Estonia, one of the Baltic States east of Sweden. Being born and raised in the artistic seaport capital of Tallinn, Liis has a strong interest towards art, architecture, and design. Her love of art, combined with a natural creativity, lead her to the profession of decorative art and faux finishing.
Discovering Faux Effects International in Vero Beach, FL, has helped fulfill her dream of providing her talents, vision and artistic ability to create something unique for each and every customer. “Every morning I wake up and can’t wait to get to work. Faux Effects International has given me the training and support from the highly experienced staff that allows me to use the best quality, user friendly products on the market today.”
One recent project of Liis’ was to transforman office area into a beautiful “Tuscany” look and feel. The project finishes chosen were based on a combination of the client’s desired outcome and her professional input. The walls were finished with Venetian Gem® Tuscany Gold and Topaz blended together, and then a glaze of FauxCrème® Clear/FauxCreme Color™ was applied to soften the contrast. The finish was then top coated with Venetian Gem® Clear Gloss Coat for a high shine.
A textured linen finish was applied to the columns and window areas and then toned with Coffee Bean MetalGlow®. For the baseboards, doors, and all picture frames, an elegant distressed finish was applied that adds to the essence of the room. The end result was successfully achieved with a captivating, rich and modern Tuscany look and the client’s final comment of “I love it.”
Liis believes that no matter what, there is always a solution and at the end of the day. She believes that professionalism, attention to detail, quality of service and good products make every customer satisfied with their investment of unique finishes. Recently, Liis relocated from the Orlando area to Northern California. Since she loves traveling and faux finishing, she is open to take a job anywhere in the States or even over seas.
Julia Olschanski
Artisan Julia Olschanski put her painting talents to use to uplift the spirits of victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. She created an inspirational mural for Mutual Ground, a safe haven for women and children in Aurora, IL. “I just wanted to share something I learned with those that needed some help and inspiration,” she says.
The area where new guests arrive was bordered by a cold, stark white cinderblock wall. Julia wanted to create a peaceful area relaying a calm sense of comfort for those in a very fragile state.
The shelter’s staff pointed out the significance of empowering words in bringing hope to these women in their journey. “They tear words from magazines and create boards for inspiration,” Julia noted. She researched and found quotes from inspiring figures such as Maya Angelou and Christopher Reeve.
The wall was warmed with AquaGlaze® mixed with colors from the SetCoat® Professional Tinting System, and messages were painted using FauxCreme Color™. “They absolutely loved the colors and textures and the Faux Effects® products were amazing and easy to use,” she adds.
Julia could hear childrens voices echo while she worked. Christopher Reeve’s quote “Once you choose HOPE anything is possible,” is punctuated with handprints where kids can line up their hands right on the wall. “The murals are empowering to women and children and very impactful,” says Vanessa Hermosillo, Domestic Violence Children’s Coordinator.
With an art background from the American Academy of Art, Julia’s career began focused on surrounding kids with “the things that they love.” She painted monarch butterflies for daughter Kayla's room and an artful, sophisticated monogram for daughter Sara.
Julia’s passion for decorative painting was fueled by the support of family and friends. A class at Faux Design Studio taught by muralist Bonnie Lecat gave her “that extra confidence to keep going.” She then took the studio’s Faux Basics Class and hit the ground running. She knew immediately that one of the samples taught by Casey Carlson would be the perfect backdrop for her mural.
Julia enjoys yoga and bike riding and joins her very supportive hubby and girls enjoying Chicago museums. She also teaches for Young Rembrandts, an after school art program for kids.
Philip Kopiczko
Philip Kopiczko of The Faux Factory in Springhill, FL, developed his self-taught, artistic talent into a successful painting and decorative finishes business, with particular emphasis on artistic marbles. Over the past eight years, he has sharpened his techniques on Old World finishes, glaze manipulation and Venetian textures.
Philip studied and consulted with master finishers to build a strong portfolio among builders, interior designers and other artists. The Faux Factory specializes not only in high end commercial and residential painting, but also decorative, faux and Venetian finishes.
He uses only the finest products made by Faux Effects International. “I use Faux Effects® products in most of my work and especially like Venetian Gem® and LusterStone®,” explains Philip. For his marble finishes, he uses FauxCreme Color™, AquaCreme™ and C-500™.
A talented artist, Philip started painting in his childhood. His modern abstract works have been on display in several galleries, and he has an impressive client base. Some of his major artist influences are Pollock, Kandinski, Miro and Picasso.
Trained in hotel and restaurant management, Philip worked for 20 years throughout the country as a restaurant manager and chef. He has traveled extensively, living and working in Honolulu, Las Vegas, Miami, Detroit and Los Angeles.
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