About Zoya Download Artist Statement (.doc) 
I was born on the last day of 1962 in a snowstorm in Rockport, Massachusetts. I am the second child of, John Scholis, an artist and Carmen Olaeta-Scholis. They were part of a small group of central coast artists loosely tied to the Bay area figurative school. Soon after my younger brother was born, my parents divorced. Despite my father’s talent, ambition and connection to some of the leading painters in the then Beat circle he was unable to support himself or us financially and returned to his family home in Quito. I grew-up with my mother and two brothers in Monterey, California. We were poor which was difficult but also turned out to be a gift in many ways. We ate healthy food (a lot of beans and corn bread), spent most of our free-time unsupervised (my mother worked and attended college full-time) and lived without a TV, radio or record player. I drew to entertain myself. I was the girl known for her artistic abilities. After graduating from high School, I worked as a waitress and bartender in Monterey and eventually in San Francisco and Oakland where I lived for nine years. All the while I took painting classes (from some great teachers at San Francisco City College) in order to keep that part of myself alive. Initially out of an interest in psychology, I began studying early childhood development. I worked my way through college as a bilingual nursery school teacher in the Mission District of San Francisco. I went to California State University, Hayward (aka East Bay) where I studied painting under Mel Ramos and Enrique Chagoya. In 1993, I graduated with Honors with a BA in Studio Arts. I returned to Monterey that year to get a Teaching Credential and began teaching elementary school. In 1995, I started to lead workshops on “Art for Personal Growth” through organizations such as, Men and Women as Allies, Friends of CG Jung and Monterey Adult School. In 2007, I married Earl Vickers. We now live in San Jose where I work as a professional artist and workshop leader through ACE. I also lead a Women’s Creativity Circle for healing and personal growth. I am grateful to be working toward my vision of community by facilitating connection and meaning with art. In my current paintings, I indulge myself with the privilege of making art in whatever way it takes me. I consider it to be first and foremost an experiment with the divine, and an exploration of a reflection from my own psyche.
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