User:NYC8974/Leokadia Makarska Cermak

Leokadia Makarska-Cermak

Leokadia Makarska-Cermak or Lily Cermak (in Czech Leokadia Makarska-Čermák and Lily Čermák respectively) are artistic names for Leokadia Čermáková, who was born in Polanica-Zdrój, a spa town with mineral waters in the Glatz valley in Poland located 33 km from the Czech border. Leokadia received a merit-based full scholarship from the Ministry of Culture that allowed her to study the five year program in Architecture of Interiors and Wood Technologies at the Technical University in Zvolen in Czechoslovakia (today in Slovakia). After graduation, Leokadia married Jiří Čermák and moved to Ostrov, a town not far from Karlovy Vary, the hot mineral springs spa town in the Western part of the Czech Republic. She worked in Karlovy Vary first as an architect of interiors and furniture and later on as a teacher at a technical high school. In mid 1990's she decided to concentrate on her art work full-time and left her teaching position.

She studied painting and drawing under the leadership of professor Hana in Karlovy Vary, the Czech Republic, professors Francesco Brunetti, Demetrio Casile and Nino Noce in Italy, and Jacek M. Rybczynski in Germany.

Cermak's list of honors includes presentation of portraits to such public figures as NYC Mayor and presidential candidate Rudolf Giuliani, U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer, and Founder and Executive Director of CIAO Mary C. Sansone.