Where presence meets paint

Sylvie Stojanovski, also known as “Sylvie the Artist” is an artist, creative facilitator and wellness consultant specializing in watercolour. Her abstract mixed-media pieces shimmer, capturing the movement of natural landscapes — inviting viewers to pause, breathe, and feel. Soft, delicate forms create visual meditations that linger in the mind and spirit.

Through her workshops, installations, and original paintings, Sylvie blends creativity with intention. Each brushstroke invites presence; each wash of colour offers a moment of calm — designed to ease the mind, inspire reflection, and awaken the senses.

Whether it’s an artwork for your home or office, a private creative session, or simply a pause from the overstimulation of modern life, Sylvie’s work offers an invitation: to reconnect with stillness, with beauty, and with the quiet rhythms of the world around us.

  • starting this long weekend with a heart full of gratitude and awe. 🫢 

I recently did a shoot with @gracegladwellphotography, and her process is pure magic. ✨ I had a vision: making art with the river, in the river, barefoot with my work by the rocks—and she captured it so beautifully.

Grace has a gift for seeing and honouring people’s authentic selves, and it shows in every frame. 

Excuse me while I keep it 💯, making art that captures the feeling of the land, the sea, the sky through colour, & imagination.
  • She’s a graduate! 🎓

✅ Master of Arts in Art Education — complete!

After 2.5 years, I’m proud to share that I’ve completed my Master of Arts in Art Education, with a research focus in sustainable art-making. I’m officially a #CUGrad and #CUAlumni!

This degree is more than a piece of paper. It represents a time of deep transition in my life.

I moved out on my own. I established my own routines and work/life balance. I scaled work I love, and I deepened commitments to myself.

Along the way, I experienced a lot of loss — of friends and family I thought would be in my life for years to come. That’s been really hard, but I still carry them with me.

The weight of this moment isn’t lost on me. I’m the first in my family to earn a master’s degree. A hundred years ago, this path might not have even been within my ancestors’ realm of possibility, and yet, here I am—steeped in the grit, tenacity, and care they gifted me.

This part of my education journey was made possible through the generous support of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and Concordia University, who helped fund my studies. 🙏🏻 If you’re considering graduate studies or applying for scholarships, I’d be more than happy to share my experience.

I’ve always pursued education with one goal: to bring knowledge back to community. Today, I get to do exactly that in my ongoing work with @thestarfishca and in the Scarborough creative community, and for that, I’m so so grateful.

With love and gratitude 💜🫶🏻✨
  • 𝘞𝘪𝘴𝘥𝘰𝘮 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴. ✨

We don’t just inherit the struggles of those who came before us. 
We inherit their patience, resilience and hope. 
The quiet strength that carried them forward, 
and the wisdom beneath it all. 
Gifts. 

I first created this piece for my mom’s birthday in 2023. Since then, I’ve returned to it again, and again. Adding flowing flecks of gold, pink and purple.

Each layer is a reminder that…
- My ancestors are always with me.
- I am not alone. 
- Sometimes the most powerful thing is community.

This piece is dedicated to the mentors in my life who’ve held myself and my work with such tenderness, as I continue to grow. Thank you. 💗

🖼️ “Wisdom flows through generations” will be featured at a @fora.nfc event later this month that’s dedicated to uniting generations to create a better, more equitable future for all. 

With gratitude 💗
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#ArtAsAffirmation #WatercolourArt #MixedMediaArt
  • May flowers came early this year 🌼

Had the pleasure of leading an intergenerational Planting Seeds of Possibility workshop earlier this month at Scarborough Historical Museum. The program centred on themes of wellness, healing, and home. Participants chatted about the importance of recognizing our interconnectedness, as beings a part of a larger ecosystem. Together, we co-created this beautiful installation. ✨

A huge thanks to co-facilitator @franniepotts for taking the lead on priming and varnishing these pieces, and to Scarborough community members for bringing such open hearts to the creation process.

May our seeds of intention inspire hope and conversation beyond this blooming season. 

#PlantingSeedsOfPossibility #CommunityArt #PublicArt #CommunityCollaboration #IntergenerationalWorkshop #Scarborough #Art #ScarboroughArt #EcoArt #CoCreation #ArtTogether
  • Hey, BC! 👋🏻 Thanks for being ✨

Feeling incredibly grateful to have spent time on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of the Chi’yakmesh people of Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) Nation for the second annual Youth Changemakers Summit with @thestarfishca earlier this week.

Last year, I attended as a delegate. This year, I had the surreal honour of helping host as the new Co-Executive Director of Operations & Administration.

So much of our work is rooted in the land and our connection to nature. Having the chance to reground outdoors, build community, and finally meet the incredible team I work with every day online was truly special. 🌿✨

Leaving this experience feeling deeply NOURISHED, inspired and excited for what’s to come. 💞 🌊
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#YECSummit #YouthLeadership #EnvironmentalLeadership #LandBasedLearning #CommunityBuilding #Changemakers #TheStarfishCanada
  • with spring nearly upon us, I am looking forward to spending more time outdoors, embracing the sun, and stretching my arms out over seeded fields with the wind ☀️🌬️

#tb to this beautiful series I created during my environmental art residency in Blönduós, Iceland last June.

Where Land, Meets Water, Meets Sky is a collection of five mixed media pieces that explore how the “feeling” of a place shifts and transforms over time, just like the ever-changing weather. Inspired by my first week in Iceland, where I spent a lot of time in my room, gazing across the Blanda River due to stormy weather, this series builds on my earlier mixed media exploration of place, Impressions of Place (2020), where I used color, shape, and line to abstractly represent the essence of a place.

Each piece began with a loose impression of the landscape outside my window. As the days passed, I added more marks based on my memories and writing from each day, creating a palimpsest of a week spent in Iceland. The works grow increasingly abstract over time, reflecting the fluidity of place and memory.

🌊🌅🌱

#EnvironmentalArt #MixedMediaArt #IcelandArt #ArtAndNature #NatureArt #ImpressionsofPlace #LandArt #NaturalPigments #Abstract #Landscape #OutsideTheWindow