Larisa Kimovna Shevchenko (née Maslova) was born in the village of Malinovka, Gorky Region, in 1953. Later, her family moved to Nizhny Tagil. Between 1979 and 1991, she worked as an artist at the tray painting workshop of the Emalposuda (Enamelware) factory. Larisa Shevchenko did not receive formal training and began her career as an artist’s apprentice. Her mentor was Agrippina Vasilyevna Afanasyeva.
In 1985, Larisa Shevchenko completed a program at a school of advanced training and joined the workshop’s creative team. She began to specialize in designing compositions with berries, such as rowan berry, bird cherry, viburnum, gooseberry, currant, and strawberry. Since that time, the artist has actively participated in regional and international exhibitions.
Rowan flowers and berries were often depicted on trays from the 1980s to the early 2000s. Artists looked for inspiration, came up with new themes and ideas, and created new artistic images. During this time, Nizhny Tagil craftsmen depicted rowan trees in various ways: with flowers or berries, green or red, yellow or orange, blue or purple, with or without birds.
This item of decorative and applied art was created in 2001. It seems that there is not enough space on the tray for the lush rowan flowers. At the same time, the composition is harmonious: in the center of the tray, the muted green background becomes almost black. Unlike many other flower trays of that time, this one does not have a diverse and oversaturated color palette.
The composition is framed by a delicate, openwork frame of brushwork ornamentation. The two-leaf pattern is simple, emphasizing the beauty of the branch with lush rowan flowers. Barely visible dark stains on the rim of the tray were created using the ancient birch bark smoking technique. A thin gold line along the edge of the rim follows the shape of the tray and adds elegance to its design.
Works by Larisa Shevchenko are presented in the collections of various museums, including the Metallurgical Ural Museum-Reserve in Nizhny Tagil, the Museums of Fine Arts in Yekaterinburg, Nizhny Tagil, Tula, and Omsk, the All-Russian Decorative Art Museum, and the State Historical Museum.
