Origa is a pen/artistic name of Olga Hooper. She was born in Siberia, Russia, and now lives in Michigan, USA. Origa is a sumi-e artist and a haiku writer, and she studies ikebana, painting on ceramic, and other Japanese arts. Her paintings have been exhibited in Giken Gallery (Japanese Broadcast Corporation) in Tokyo, Japan; in Shiawassee Art Center gallery in Michigan, USA; in the 8th Annual Paitings, Drawings, and Prints Juried International Online Art Exhibition (Nebraska, USA); in Akita Internaitonal University, Japan.
Origa's original sumi-e are in private collections in USA, Japan, Russia, France, Australia, New Zealand, Ukraine, Poland, India, Uruguay, England, Canada, Romania, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Kenia, Brazil, Italy, Israel, and South Africa. Her original painting on a shiki-shi board "Early Spring" is in the collection of The Japanese Consul General in Boston, USA. A print of her sumi-e haiga "Curious Squirrel" is in the Museum of Art in Constantza, Romania. Origa's sumi-e were used as cover and illustrations in different haiku magazines and anthologies.
Origa is a founding editor of Kankodori Press; and she is a sponsor/managing host/judge of the internaitonal bilingual haiku contest "Calico Cat" (with her original sumi-e as prizes). As a haiku poet, Origa was a winner in many international haiku contests, and is widely published in Japanese and international haiku publications.
Origa's online galleries:
http://hiero.ru/Origa ;
http://www.graphic.org.ru/hooper.html ;
http://www.redbubble.com/people/Origa
