Born in 1965 in the former USSR, Oleg ‘Bika’ Tsaava was surrounded by art from his birth. As a child, his grandfather, a sculptor, gave him art instruction for two hours a day, including sketching, canvases, and sculpture. By the time Bika was sixteen, he was employed as his grandfather’s full-time apprentice. At eighteen he began his education at the Tbilisi Teacher’s Training College, earning a BA in drawing and painting. Bika was soon invited to a position as an associate professor at this school, which he took while teaching art to elementary school children.

Unable to truly express himself through his art in the oppressive USSR, Bika, his wife, and their child moved to the United States in 1991. Bika began working as a clay sculptor at the Factory of Ceramic Artifice and joined the Deljou Art Group. His stunning artwork can be found in private and corporate collections both in the United States and internationally.