The earth laughs in flowers. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Irina Gretchanaia has been an artist for over a decade now and moving to Springwater changed her life as an artist. She is now surrounded by nature all year round, which helps her create beautiful work.
Irina and her husband Chris lived in Barrie for over 10 years and once the kids were all grown up, they felt like they needed a home where they would be able to enjoy their passions more. Irina wanted a bigger studio surrounded by nature and natural light and Chris wanted to be close to snowmobile and dirt bike trails. They
looked for a very long time to find an amazing home that was perfect for them. When they found their dream home, Springwater residents welcomed them with open arms.  
Irina’s philosophy takes its cue from a materialistic world's dependence on disposable goods and the pursuit of money. Many people take nature for granted.  She paints flowers to show the beauty we overlook every day and hopefully encourage people protect and fight for what we have left of our nature. Her biggest inspiration is nature; she lives for the season of flowers! Peonies are her favorite and every season she finds her new star.
Most of Irina’s neighbours were introduced to her through their flowers; she sees something she loves in their garden and then explains her passion to them. Irina shares, “I know what grows in everyone's garden on the street and what is their passion flower. Many people in the area have visited my studio and continue visiting throughout the year to see what I'm working on and if their flower is being painted.”
What does living in Springwater mean to Irina? “When I first moved to the area, I kept driving past this house on the left side of the street and looking at this beautiful Iris thinking, ‘I have to come closer and take some pictures.’ So I started
talking to the lady (Pat) across the street from the precious flower asking if she knew her neighbours. Well, she happened to be a garden lover herself and told me about everyone's flowers on the street. Later that week she took me around the neighbourhood and showed me the gardens of everyone she knew and this is how I met my neighbours!”
Chris and Irina have two grown up children and their old girl Coco, a dog. They all call their house a special place, their paradise. Chris works in Toronto most of the week and has to commute on daily basis, but coming home feels like a real retreat for him.
When home, Chris enjoys every trail riding sport of the season and has been part of Simcoe County Off Road Riders Association for almost seven years. He helped to build and maintain many of the trails and helps to enforce the rules to protect forests from irresponsible riders. Chris loves nature and his off-road community, and dedicates most of his free time to nurture that.
Their son Ryan (19) is studying Electrical Techniques at Georgian College in pursuit of a career in the electrical field. He also a big off-road motorcycle enthusiast and a respected rider in the community. Ryan helps out at several of the Simcoe county off-road rider's events and is in involved with the competition side of the sport. He won the Enduro championship in the expert class for Off-road Ontario, and this year has been promoted to race at the pro level.
Their other son Valer (23) is currently in California exploring and taking a break after graduating from Carleton University criminology program. He lives in Toronto full time but comes to visit often.
The family feels very fortunate to be surrounded by so much nature and Irina treasures every moment of it. Her wish is that more communities were like US! She feels very lucky to call her neighbours her family and her friends; everyone cares and is ready to help at any given time.”

www.irinagretchanaia.com

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