User:Starburst 47/sandbox

ALEX SHUSTER (1949-2012)
==== Alexander Ruvelevych Shuster was born on August 3, 1949 in Ukrainian city of Chernivtsy. He grew up in a Jewish family and had two brothers, older brother Joseph and younger brother Vladimir. Alex's mother Rosa (Ronya) was very dedicated to her children. She loved her family nest and was an exceptional cook to come up with lovely family dinners in the best Jewish traditions. Her meals were fantastic and greatly appreciated by the family and their friends to include children and grand children and families in law. Some of her recipes are still used to prepare meals for festive dinners and special occasions. Alex's father Ruvel Gershevych was known to be as a highly skilled watch and mechanical clock maker, whose talent was passed onto his younger son Vladimir, who currently lives with his family in Germany and works at watch making factory.

Alex's talent to draw was discovered due to unfortunate event, when being a young boy he stayed in hospital for treatment of meningitis. His recovery required prolonged stay behind hospital doors. The nurse who looked after Alex gave him a pad and a box of pencils. This is how it is all started. His first drawing of horse head grabbed attention of his father, who also had a talent to draw. And from that day onwards Alex always had pencil hidden in his pocket. He chose his path to be an artist and was determined to complete his education.

In 1970 Alex successfully entered Odessa Art College named after Grekov. This college was founded in 1865 and up until present remains to be the oldest art school in Ukraine. The famous graduates of this school were Brodsky I., Burliuk D., Grekov M., Pasternak L., Rubo F. Alex was married twice. He had daughter Yelena from his first marriage, which was short lived. Whilst studying in Odessa Alex met his second wife Tatiana, who was also a student in the same college. Shortly after graduation their first son Roman was born. As a young family, Alex and Tatiana decided to move from Odessa to Tobolsk in Russia to pursue their career as artists. Life in Tobolsk was not full of roses. Alex worked hard and always long hours. Both parents were teaching Art in Tobolskiy Arts Secondary College. In 1982 Alex and Tatiana became happy parents once again and welcomed their daughter Dariya. ====