Whether or not you believe in fate, the lives of numerous people are being directed by some invisible hand. Our ancestors would describe fate as "It was preordained," while the Germans explain it by saying "It was put into his cradle."

    On a sunny April day in 1987 in a southern Ukrainian town, a fair-haired girl came into this world. Her guardian  angel gave her a fair and  magnificent name- Daria, and fate put into her cradle Talent, Charisma, Beauty, Love and  Success. However, among those splendid gifts there was no gift of Time for her to fully enjoy them all.

    Daria was born on April, 12th, 1987 in   Kherson. They say that God grants us the length of life but as for the breadth, we are free to choose it ourselves. Daria took no notice of the proportions of her life’s length and breadth. Her life became ephemerally thin and at the same time paradoxically broad. Looking back at her ways she seemed to always feel constrained. Her deep soul never had enough time, enough space. If she could have flown she would have torn off the ground. Instead, she moved from town to town from one country to another to explore new worlds, new possibilities.

    In 1989 her family moved to Moscow.

    In 1993 at the age of six she became a student of a private school, the Moscow  School for Girls. This had a great impact on her destiny and  it was there that she acquired that inimitable nobility and grace, which in combination with her fair complexion,  light feminine build, and blond silky hair gave her a touch of aristocracy. During her school years Daria took a great interest in different kinds of art – she drew, painted and took part in school performances.

    As early as then she displayed  a great talent for decorating specially  with respect to color and possessed a special insight into space.

    From 2001 to 2002 Daria studied at the design school. Her diploma work took  first place. Looking at her work, it is difficult to believe that it was created by a 15-year-old child. Even then the word “child” did not fit her. Her works  were very subtle and aesthetic and  marked with unique accuracy and linear definition.

    Now we can only guess how her creative potential acquired that precision.

    In  2002  at  the age of  fifteen she graduated  high school in Moscow, one year beforehand.

    By this time, she had a good command of English and French and entered the senior class of a prestigious American private school ,Montverde  Academy. Since her early years Daria developed a surprising sense of tact and intuition followed by success. They were integral parts of her ambitious  personality. There was no limit to perfection for her, nothing was impossible. In Montverde Academy she completed all the required courses including an Advanced Placement Art.  .

    During this time most of her paintings ,watercolors and drawings were created, she also won her first awards for her art work.. How much time does  one need to be the best in everything… how much time does   one need to just live… no mathematician, summing up the time could  find an explanation as to how she could possibly fit all those “bests” into  the short  span of her fruitful life. Her works show that she could devote herself completely to different projects.

    She possessed this heavenly energy, you could see the artist in her work as well as in her  personality. By taking an active role in the school’s art community she received the award of “Most Artistic Female”. Daria graduated as Valedictorian and was also named the senior “Most  likely to Succeed.”

    In the Fall of  2003, at the age of 16, Daria  entered the Tyler School of Art at Temple    University. She focused all of her energy on Studio.

    Daria took part in architecture projects,  read a lot, wrote diaries, drew and took sophisticated photographs. She also dedicate much of her time to studying and  analyzing the works of her favorite architects, Santiago Calatrava  and Antoni Gaudi and the artists  Salvadore Dali and  Joseph William Turner. Her  freshman year project was presented by her school for the accreditation of its architecture program.

    Daria was only 19 years old, only a year and a half away from graduating and full of creative ideas ,when her life tragically ended on November 19th, 2006.

   She was to have a successful career and a future full of hope.

                Her whole life was

                So perfect ,so wholesome,

                So alien to the earthly surroundings

                It seemed to have gone

                To have disappeared

                In the sky like a star…    

    Daria often put down dot, dot, dot  while writing her diaries. And now we don’t put down a dot, we also put dot, dot, dot…

    Her life goes on in her  creations;  in her paintings, drawings, photography and architecture designs.

   In acknowledgment of her talent and individuality the Taler School of Art  at Temple  University created a memorial and established the Daria Chentsova scholarship.

    The words of those in charge of the school of architecture,her   professors and lectures attest to the fact that she possessed an extraordinary talent.

          "Daria was a special young woman who passed through this world much too quickly. Her beauty and intelligence were gifts that she used wisely. I pray that her memory will live on in some magnificent way that  honors her existence on this earth” (Laurie Duffy, Director of Academic Services).

         "Daria was a bright spot  in so many ways. Her knowledge was great and worldly. Her insights were always worthwhile. She was happy and full of life, pretty and always smiling” (Kate Wingert-Playdon, associate Professor Temple Archetecture).

         "Daria impressed me with her talents, abilities, attitude and work. She was so smart and I was shocked it find out that she was two years younger than the other students. She ran circles around students two years older than her, and made it look easy” (Diana Nicholas, Lecturer).

         "A light has gone out here in  our Architecture Department with Daria’s passing” (Elizabeth masters, Lecturer).

 

    Her talent and her individuality show themselves in her works. Daria was gifted with a sense of light  color and space. Her exuberant personality and her seeking soul were embodied in her work. She was equally excited by the natural  surrounding world and the character of the people she  portrayed.

    Her determination to express her own insight into life in general and into its every single moment by way of different artistic means- painting, drawing, architectural projects, her photography - is the basis of her artistic conception.

   All of her works are exceptional, charming, versatile, just like she was ...