Interview with a Star, Maria from russianfineart

When you visit the russianfineart shop on Etsy you will immediately be intrigued by either their paintings, wonderful embroidered pillows or a bunches of sage offered by Maria, the owner of the shop. What's behind this? We'd like to know! So we contacted Maria and she told us more about herself and her magical sage.

Please welcome, Maria from russianfineart shop.

 I was born in the city of Saint Petersburg, the Venice of the North, where I was surrounded by the environment rich in art and culture. I was connected to theatre since both of my parents were actors. I performed as an actress on stage and as an acrobat in circus from early on. I always enjoyed theatre, museums and my cultural life.

When I grew up my life took an unexpected turn. I left my native Russia and moved to the other side of the world, to Vancouver, British Columbia, where I now live with my son.

I was alone in the new city where I began to learn new things. This new city was nothing like the place where I came from, but yet I found beauty in it. For the first time I saw mountains and beautiful forest landscapes. I started to connect more and more with nature, learning about different animals and plants. I learned about native people whose culture I found so fascinating.

I traveled to small towns in British Columbia where I met true native people. These people were very open, simple and had kind hearts, even though many of them were very poor. They needed to work very hard just to get their food, and yet their souls were pure, free from conceitedness and greediness. Their spirits shined with warmth and kindness.

I learned many things from them as well as began to understand and connect with nature more. I realized that nature gives us everything we need: sun gives us energy; rain cools the soil down and gives it water; plants give us food, heal and treat us. It is a true magic. There are many plants that heal people, their minds or making their weak hearts strong. 

 The most magic plant of all is sage which also means wisdom. There are various types of species of sage (salvia) which grow all over the world and used for many different purposes.

It comes from mint family, same with lavender, basil and other herbs. The scent is not the same as lavender or mint, but in the way it is similar. Russian or Ukrainian sage looks completely different from the sage which grows in North America. It looks more like lavender and has blue flowers. It is also used for different purposes, mostly in medicine. Greek sage also looks and even smells different. It has small leaves which are in oval shape and reminds me more of olive leaves. I believe that Greeks mostly use their sage in cooking.

I pick my sage in British Columbia in one valley reserved by native people. It is truly a magic place and I like to call it a paradise. It is used in medicine to salve soars and as tea to treat colds or coughs. Now because of its aromatic smell, it is used as a home fragrance, usually placed in a clothing drawer or a closet. Native American people also call this plant “cancer-weed” and use it in medicine to treat cancer. Now their main purpose is to tie it in bundles and burn the smudge sticks to clean one’s spirit and get rid of negative energy.

I believe that geographic location is one of the factors which are important to know about the plant, the atmosphere and the care surround it is another.

Maria from russianfineart