Галина Стельмащук • Марія Гарасовська-Дачишин

133 all those who knew her. In 1947-1948 she and her friends arranged joint exhibitions in Germany. In 1946 Ukrainian artists had also participated in the exhibitions, arranged together with Polish, Lithuanian, Latvian, Estonian artists in Baden-Baden, Salzburg and Bregenz (Austria). In the camp, Maria proved herself to be not only a talented artist, but also a skilful organizer of art education. Having a good teacher’s education and years of experience in teaching, she arranged her own Art Studio in Aschaffenburg in 1946- 1948. 24 pupils completed the course of studies at her studio. Some of them later became prominent Ukrainian artists. While teaching at the studio, Maria continued her art work. She painted in water- colours, because the studio had no oil-colours and there was little space for work there. Ukrainian writer, poet, journalist and public figure Anatol Kurdydyk visited her and wrote that he saw a small crammed room and a water-colour painting without a frame, nailed to the wall. It represented an image of a mother and child, which was asleep. Could it be that it was the artist’s daughter? The mother’s head was covered with a red scarf and she had the red embroidery on her blouse sleeves. The painting could be named “Red Madonna”. After Maria endured the camp hardships and avoided repatriation, the artist could leave the DP camp in 1949 and was free in making a choice of settlement. The Soviet regime ruled in Ukraine, her family was considered to be bourgeois nationalists: traitors and enemies of the people. Exile to Siberia or even execution was expected if they returned. Ukrainian artists like Mika dispersed into the world – some left for the USA, Canada, Argentina, Brazil, Venezuela and even Australia. Maria, like many other Ukrainian artists, chose the USA. During the war she lost many art works, but she did not lose belief in herself, in her fathers’ wisdom and in art. Mika’s famous smile brightened her face. She started a new page of her life and her creative activities in 1949 in New York and then later in Chicago,. During her first ten years in the USA, she often turned to subjects related to Ukraine. One of these paintings is a big size canvas “Wild Hutzulia at Midsummer Night” (1960). The viewer sees a composition of many dancing young couples in Hutzul costumes circling around a bonfire. A young boy