Yelena Alexandrovna Vardugina was born and raised in Nizhny Tagil. In 1983, she graduated from a technical vocational school where she studied tray painting. She continued her education at the Ural School of Applied Arts and Design. After that, between 1987 and 1992, she worked at the tray painting workshop of the Emalposuda (Enamelware) factory.

Under the guidance of Agrippina Vasilyevna Afanasyeva and Tamara Vladimirovna Yudina, the artist quickly gained practical experience. Yelena Vardugina mastered the technique of two-color brushstroke, learned various methods of painting flowers and leaves, and mastered various compositions. After the Emalposuda factory was closed, she continued working as a tray painter at the Metal Shop enterprise. There, she mastered multi-layer painting and the technique of golden stencil patterns.

Thanks to this experience, Yelena Vardugina joined a creative group that included leading tray artists. Although she mastered all the possible styles, floral compositions remained her favorite images.

The artist’s roses have a perfect round shape with delicate color transitions on the petals. The buds are lush and voluminous because two-color brushstrokes are applied two or even three times on top of each other. The artist’s trays feature such flowers as roses, poppies, daisies, and bluebells.

Yelena Vardugina’s tray “Celebration” represents the best traditions of the Nizhny Tagil tray painting art of the mid-18th century, as well as new decorative techniques developed by the local craftsmen in the 1980s. This is a work of an experienced master of lacquer painting on metal with a distinct artistic style. Yelena Vardugina mastered the craft and joined a creative team, working alongside other prominent tray painting artists.

Since 1992, Yelena Vardugina has participated in local, regional, and nationwide exhibitions. In 2009, she won the Grand Prix at the Eleventh Competition “Master of the Year in Decorative and Applied Arts” Named After the Khudoyarov Dynasty. In 2012, she was awarded an honorary certificate from the government of the Sverdlovsk Region for her contribution to developing and preserving the Nizhny Tagil art of tray painting.