Most days, Alla and Milana can be found surrounded by sheep’s wool, a range of materials, and bright light in their studio—imagining and creating.
For Alla, creating art is as natural as breathing. She discovered her calling in early childhood, inspired and nurtured by her grandmother and great-grandmother, and has maintained an uninterrupted practice of art and design for more than thirty years.
Milana grew up in her mother’s studio, learning art through observation, curiosity, and practice. For more than 10 years now, she has found great joy in their shared work, in the friendship and collaboration.
Artist Statement
Our works reflect the life energy that flows through nature. They are born from contemplative observation of a world where every sunrise slips away and every sunset exists only once—where flowers open to the sun, leaves rustle in the wind, birds trace calligraphic lines across the sky, and daylight quietly yields to night. The list of these fleeting miracles is endless. No one can hang yesterday’s sky on a wall or carry away the whisper of a forest path—yet we, as artists, can preserve the energy and vibration of a moment through our work.
For us, nature is an ever-changing, immersive outdoor gallery, a masterpiece of the Great Creator. Every element is crafted with intention: intricate patterns, organic forms, and breathtaking gradients of light and color that never repeat, always inviting closer observation. These impressions accumulate within us until they overflow, transforming into our creations—continuing the beauty of a world that cannot be possessed or frozen in time, but can be lived, felt, and experienced anew through art.
Technique: To create our works, we use sheep’s wool as both pigment and sculptural medium, combining it with other materials. Our technique is rooted in one of humanity’s oldest textile traditions—wool felting, with the earliest known examples dating back to the 3rd millennium BCE. Through over 100,000 hours of hands-on practice, material research, and artistic experimentation, we have expanded this ancient process to create contemporary sculpture. We work with wool most primal state — loose and formless — at this stage, fibers follow no predictable logic. This gives us complete artistic freedom to translate inspiration, ideas and ephemeral moments into tangible works of art through sculpting, subtle color blending, creating variations in density and texture. Each piece emerges through touch, layering, and intuition. It is a slow, complex, multi-step process that requires dedication and understanding of fiber movement. In the finished works, the material undergoes a radical transformation: from its initial pliable, amorphous state, it develops into a remarkably resilient, durable, and structurally stable form.
CV
This summary outlines the work accomplished during the artistic collaboration of Alla Borovskaia and Milana Borovskaia.
Both artists have been included in the Maryland Public Art Initiative’s Public Artist Roster for FY2026–FY2028 by the Maryland State Arts Council. Public Art Across Maryland (PAAM) Artwork Commissions is the state’s Percent-for-Art program. For all newly constructed or renovated state-owned buildings, a percentage of the construction budget is dedicated to the creation and installation of public art.
Artist Residencies:
2024-2025 Resident Artists at the Montpelier Arts Center, 9652 Muirkirk Rd, Laurel, MD 20708
2022-2024 Resident Artists at the Sandy Spring Museum, 17901 Bentley Rd, Sandy Spring, MD 20860
2021-2022 Studio artists at the Howard County Arts Center, 8510 High Ridge Rd, Ellicott City, MD 21043-3308
Public art projects, Selected Commissions:
2023 Decorating a community dining room, installation “Poppies” at Grassroots Crisis Intervention Center at 6700 Freetown Road, Columbia MD, 21044
2022 The installation “Garden of Paradise” is located on the second floor of the Grassroots Crisis Intervention Center at 6700 Freetown Road, Columbia, MD 21044
2021 Art object, "Kind words”, Installed on the first floor of the Grassroots Crisis Intervention Center at 6700 Freetown Road, Columbia MD, 21044
Solo/Two-artist exhibitions:
2025 The Garden of Inspiration, Sandy Spring Museum, 17901 Bentley Road Sandy Spring, MD 20860
2025 Butterflies and Flowers — Messengers of the Heavens,Montpelier Arts Center, 9652 Muirkirk Rd, Laurel, MD 20708
2024 ‘Transforming the Place Around: Artistic Reflections on National Treasures, Sandy Spring Museum, 17901 Bentley Road Sandy Spring, MD 20860
2024 ‘Botanical Alchemy: Woman Souls in Full Bloom, Gallery 194, Chesapeake Arts Center’s address is 194 Hammonds Lane, Brooklyn Park, MD 21225
2023-2024 “The Four Seasons”, Prince George’s Public Playhouse, 5445 Landover Rd, Hyattsville, MD 20784
2023 “Flowers - Messengers of Heaven”, Sandy Spring Museum, 17901 Bentley Road, Sandy Spring, MD 20860
Selected group exhibitions:
2025 Maryland Folk Festival Exhibition, The Museum of Eastern Shore Culture at Salisbury University, 218 W Main St. in Downtown Salisbury, Maryland
2024 ‘The Collection’ curated Tammy O`Conner, Gaslight Gallery, 118 E Church St, Frederick, MD 21701-5404
2023-2024 ‘Comfort and Cozy’, Annmarie Sculpture Garden & Arts Center, 13470 Dowell Rd, Solomons, MD 20688
2023 “Art in Bloom” Martha Spak Gallery, Washington DC
2023 “Bloomcore” LibertyTown Arts Workshop, Fredericksburg, VA
2022-2023 “Beyond Traditions” Sandy Spring museum, Sandy Spring, MD
2022 “SCULPTURE NOW 2022” Washington Sculptors Group, Harmony Hall Arts Center, Fort Washington, MD
2022 Exhibition of Resident Artists at the Howard County Arts Council, Ellicott City, MD
2022 Maryland Regional Arts Council. Virtual Exhibition Series #3, Central Maryland
2022 “HoCo Open 2022” Howard County Arts Council, Ellicott City, MD
2021-2022 “Pivot” Ward Museum of Wildfowl Art, Salisbury University, Salisbury, MD
2020 21st Annual Joan L. Dunfey Open Juried Exhibition in Portsmouth, New Hampshire
2016 International festival in Italy "Pisa Fashion Days 2016". Pisa city, central Italy
2013-2014 "New life of traditions" city of St. Petersburg
Awards and grants:
2025 Garden of Inspiration project, Alla has received Grant from The Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County, Maryland.
2025 Inspired by Wool: Art, Community, and Traditions, Milana has received Grant from The Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County, Maryland.
2024 Milana has received a Creativity grant from the Maryland State Arts Council for her project 'Transforming the Place Around: Artistic Reflections on National Treasures,' is dedicated to fostering community engagement through art, championing environmental preservation, promoting immigrant creativity expression, and empowering vulnerable communities and youth.
2023 Alla was a Master Artist in the Folklife Apprenticeship program from the Maryland State Arts Council.
2023 Alla was awarded Creativity grant from the Maryland State Arts Council.
Teaching Experience (selected):
- 2025 –Invited Instructors, the Textile Museum at George Washington University, Washington, DC
- 2025 – Invited Instructors, Folk Festival, The Textile Museum at George Washington University, Washington, DC
- 2025 – Open Studio, Montpelier Arts Center, Laurel, MD
- 2023–2025 – Ongoing workshop series exploring traditional and modern felting techniques, The Delaplaine Arts Center, Frederick, MD
- 2022–2025 – Ongoing workshop series exploring traditional and modern felting techniques, Sandy Spring Museum, Sandy Spring, MD
- 2021 – Howard County Arts Center, Ellicott City, MD
- 2019 – Private workshops, Ellicott City, MD
- 2019 – Group Workshops, Hong Kong, China
- 2016 State television educational series (Kuban 24 channel, City of Krasnodar, Russia)
- 2015–2017 – Group and Individual Workshops, Krasnodar city, Russia
- 2015 – Group Workshop, Children’s Hospital, Krasnodar city, Russia