Anya began her art training at the early age of five with Holly Salisbury, the Mother of the Singletary Center in Lexington, Kentucky. Holly was classically trained and attended art school in Florence, Italy.
For eleven years, Anya studied art and composition from Holly. In high school, Anya auditioned into the School for Creative and Performing Arts (SCAPA) at Lafayette in Kentucky where she continued her extensive art training with David Page and Teresa Stofer. In her junior and senior years of high school, she studied in a master class with Marianna McDonald, a renowned Kentucky artist specializing in pastels.
Throughout high school, Anya also began giving art lessons to elementary and middle school children, as well as working as a designer and laser cutting operator at Nite Owl Workshop. Art continued to be a prominent part of her life in every way.
At college, Anya continued her art studies with Sheldon Tapley and Andrew Brown. She has had exposure with multiple mediums, including oils, pastels, watercolors, glass blowing, graphite, colored pencils, and acrylic markers.
While in college, she took two internships making video games with Dr. Michael Bradshaw, where she was in charge of visual assets, programming, and writing. She also took an internship with Centre College’s Digital Media and Communications team, where she helped organize and run campaigns for recruiting students and engaging alumni. Under the tutelage of Kurt Maloy, Anya grew proficient in graphics design.
