Snjezana Coyner
Artist Bio
Snjezana—whose name, whispered like winter wind, means Snow White in Croatian—was born in a land veiled by the shadows of communism. In a world where electricity meant the flickering of candlelight, voices were silenced, and scarcity was a daily companion, her name stood out like a promise. A symbol of light, innocence, and quiet strength, Snow White was not just her name, but a foreshadowing of the fairy tale she would one day live.
Her early memories are laced with candlelight and courage. She studied by flame, walked on dirt floors, and learned that even in silence, stories could sing. Her grandfather crafted toys from scraps of wood and told her tales of mystical lands and brave princesses. Her grandmother nurtured her imagination and taught her to love the wild, the soft, the growing things. Though her family had little, they gave her everything that mattered: wonder, wisdom, stories, love, and the roots of resilience.
Separated from her mother before the age of two, Snjezana remained with her grandparents and family until, many years later, they made a bold and secret decision. One crisp autumn morning, under the hush of moonlight, they crossed a graveyard, took a train, and boarded a plane that would carry her into a different kind of magic and marvels she’d never imagined. It felt like stepping directly into one of her grandfather’s stories.
And in many ways, it was. That moment marked the beginning of her own fairytale—not without darkness, but always with light.
Today, Snjezana’s art is born from this winding path and the course of her own life—infused with survival, memory, and the beauty she’s collected from both struggle and serenity. Each creation carries whispers from her past, the pulse of nature, and the longing to connect hearts through color, meaning, faith, hope, peace, and love.