Maya Frank
Maya Frank: “AN ARTIST LOST…..A TREASURE NEVER FOUND.”
Maya Frank was born and raised in the former Soviet Union, which is now Turkmenistan. Her early life was one of the very modest means, a small home with dirt floors, her family life, in this modest home, was filled with love and happiness. Maya’s parents went to Medical School, graduated and became
surgeons working in hospitals and research laboratories in the former Soviet Republic. When very young, Maya would accompany her Mother to work at the hospital, where she would play, and at times would be in the operating room with her mother during surgical procedures. Likewise, she would
also spend time with her Father while he worked in medical research laboratories. This is where she first learned to use a soldering iron to fuse electronic plates, where, most likely, the seeds were sown for creating artistic jewelry.
Life at school, however, was not as safe and secure as her upbringing at home, the hospital or laboratory with her Mother and Father. Maya was subjected to ridicule and bullying by other children. This ongoing torment resulted in a broken ego, so the search began for a means of emotional survival.
Maya needed to rebuild what was destroyed by her classmates. Being very independent, she sought every opportunity available, as all activities were provided at no cost. It was during this search for salvation she discovered her passion for dance, art, stage, clothing and jewelry design and production.
The rebuilding of her spirit had begun, Maya was ready to take on her next challenge, medical school, following in the path of her parents.
During med school, she continued to dance and produce her own drawings, clothing and jewelry designs. She earned her medical degree in the Soviet Union, and shortly after the fall of the Iron Curtain, her family migrated to Israel, where she earned her degree in Criminology and Sociology.
It was this field, Criminology, that provided her with a better understanding of the human mind and how life’s experiences shape our destiny.
During her studies in Israel, Maya worked as a Makeup Artist where she was credited by her clients for changing their lives and improving their self-esteem by allowing them to feel beautiful. She accomplished life changing results by utilizing the tools of the Makeup Artist, and her view that each
face was like a canvas where her creative, artistic talents could be appreciated by the results achieved for these women.
The rebuilding of her own self-esteem was a ten year work in progress that culminated with a decision to leave Israel for the land of opportunity, the U.S.A. So with $200.00 she flew to Miami, and from there to N.Y. where she married, raised two children, only for her marriage to end in tragic, devastating divorce after ten years of abuse, leading to severe depression and despair. So with her two children, her Mother and Father, she had to start all over again. After being thrown out from the house a short time later, Maya’s father was murdered, leaving everyone heartbroken and devastated once again. Were it not for her two beautiful
children and loving mother she would not have survived such emotional and financial upheaval. However, she drew on her inner strength, independence and the skills, developed in early childhood, and began making furniture and selling it to provide food and shelter for her family.
This journey was one of severe depression, and at times, hopelessness, but, during these difficult times, she poured her life’s despair onto the canvas, over and over again until, “The Mind of an Artist, Expressionist Creations” by Maya Frank was born. Since the birth of Maya’s Art of Expressionist Creations, she has formed her own business venture, Art For Cause Inc. Through this new enterprise she will dedicate a percentage of all revenue generated through the sale of her work to charitable causes.
Hope for Depression Research Foundation’s mission is to fund cutting edge scientific research into the origins, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of depression and its related mood and other emotional disorders, inclusive of the prevention of suicide.
As Maya believes, and as it relates to the artistic community and the high rate of suicide from depressive disorders, “AN ARTIST LOST…..A TREASURE NEVER FOUND.” These words are the driving force behind her motivation to save the lives of those suffering from depression. The breadth of her work beyond the canvas includes unique pieces of furniture, jewelry, photography and the use of mixed media, all of which are designed and created in her studio. Each piece of her work has a story, all of which reveal, “The Mind of an Artist, Maya Frank.”
