Photo by Zenoviy Matchak

Roksolana Tymiak- Lonchyna, a dentist by profession, took up photography as an outlet for her creativity. She was born in 1952 to Ukrainian immigrant parents in New York. USA. Undergraduate studies were completed at Syracuse University and she obtained her DDS from Loyola University School of Dentistry in 1978 .Hoping to master the use of he new camera, Roksolana enrolled at the College of Du Page and earned her Associate of Applied Science degree in photography in 2004.

Combining her love of travel with her interest in people, she began to capture fragments of the human condition on film. Her travels to Ukraine over the past twenty years included participation in numerous medical missions where she and other volunteers treated orphans and pregnant women.  The orphans she visited became the subjects of her photography. This served as a vehicle for fundraising for pediatric formula for the children in orphanages in Ukraine. The fund was named “Starving for Color” tying it in with the theme of her first photo exhibit.Roksolana has used these funds to purchase infant formula for numerous orphanages in Ukraine.

A photojournalist, Roksolana searches for stories that can effectively inform educate and grasps the viewer.  She has photographed the deaf and the blind people of Ukraine.  She has been involved with Easter Seals, photographing the physically-challenged children this charity serves. Roksolana is  presently working on projects with the physically challenged of Ukraine.

She participated in the “Orange Revolution” of 2004 taking part in the events on the “Maydan” and recording the historic events with her camera.  Her first hand involvement  as an official  International Election Observer during the mandated repeat election of the President of Ukraine in December 26, 2004   and her photojournalist endeavors resulted in the  book  “ Conscience Calls ”  which recounted in photo and essays her impressions of the people and the election process during the Orange Revolution. She has returned numerous times back to Ukraine in the role of an International Election Observer traveling to Donetsk, Krasnoarminsk and Poltava.

In her travels throughout Ukraine she has recognized the problems with the Anglicism of the Ukrainian language period. She photographed many examples, in signs that exhibit the use of English words translated into Ukrainian, sometimes even with senseless meaning.

In October 2009 the Ukrainian Language Society (Chicago) and the Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art held an event “Our nightingale Language-Evolution of the Ukrainian language.  Through photos brought from Ukraine she showed how sad is the state of this beautiful language.

Roksolana was invited in 2009 and 2010 to exhibit on the same subject at the Lviv Polytechnical Institute under the title ‘Signs in Lviv -Denial from the native language:”

• In 2010 she works on one of her largest exhibits “To Ukraine with Love”
• In 2010 she was awarded the gold star for her work in Ukraine.
• It has been said about her “ She lives with Ukraine in her Heart”

And she responds  with the words of Mother Theresa:

• ” We can do no great things only small things with great love”.

Roksolana  travels to where there are stories to be  told. Using her  Nikon D70 or Nikon D 7000.  She enjoys photographing landscapes and nature as well.  Her photos are available for those that are interested.

Maria Klymchak