Text by Mrs. Marija IGALY for the Croatian Retirees’ Gazette, ZAGREB, 12/2023.
Mrs. Marija IGALY was accepted into the International Association of Professional Artists (IAA AIAP UNESCO) in 1986.
- At the annual exhibition of visual achievements by the “Group 69,” she received the “Golden Brush” award from the expert jury: Josip Depolo and Vasilije Jordan.
- She registered and protected the “toMAgo” method for enlarging her miniatures. At the 27th International Exhibition of Innovations in Geneva, she received a silver medal and a diploma for the “toMAgo” innovation. At the 48th World Salon of Innovations, Discoveries, and New Technologies in Brussels, EUREKA ’99, she received a bronze medal and diploma for the same innovation.
On Friday, December 1, 2023, Mrs. Marija IGALY held a workshop demonstrating her invention, the “FLOWER PETALS”, at the premises of the HRT Retirees’ Association on Biankinijeva Street in Zagreb. The workshop was met with great enthusiasm from participants, many of whom were encountering this art form for the first time, creating “PICTURES” from dried flower petals. The workshop was well-attended; the women worked diligently and were thrilled with their final creations, made entirely by hand and imagination. For each workshop, Mrs. Marija prepares the dried petals individually, along with tweezers, glass frames, and clips. Each participant takes home her finished “picture” to show to family members and enjoy personally.
Mrs. Igaly generously shares her skill and invented techniques so that others can enjoy their own creativity and art learned during the workshop. As a professor of special education – pedagogy, she worked at the Educational Center “Slava Raškaj”, enjoying her work with children with special needs and hearing-impaired children. Since retiring, she continues to share her knowledge with great passion, experience, and love. Today, her workshops are attended mainly by adults, mostly women, eager to explore new creative possibilities using imagination, creativity, freedom of thought, and achieving beautiful final results.
For over 20 years, Mrs. Marija Igaly has been conducting workshops throughout Zagreb and Croatia, often accompanied by exhibitions of her most beautiful works. She has organized approximately 90 workshops and an equal number of solo exhibitions.
Text and photos by: M.Sc. Snježana Požar
