Olesya began life in Tashkent Uzbekistan where her father, a Kazakhstan resident, was a missionary Protestant pastor. As a young child, her father was assigned to the Siberian snow forest region of Taiga where she began drawing.

When Olesya was nine, the family moved back to their homeland in Kazakhstan where she began art school in the city of Taraz. In 1988, her family moved to Almaty, KZ, and she began college focused on an art degree. She graduated from Almaty University in 2006 with a master’s degree in teaching fine arts and drawing.

Olesya served as a professor of Art at the University of Almaty. She worked as a contractor for the Government of Kazakhstan where she created art reproductions for the halls of the new Capital at Astana. She also taught private lessons and created commissioned art work for clients.

Olesya currently resides in Ankeny, Iowa where she teaches art and creates innovative paintings.