Maija Purgaile (Maija Grnfelde from 1977 to 1997) born in Latvia, Riga in 1953. Currently living in Riga. Graduated from Latvian University, Faculty of Technology and Latvian Academy of Arts, education completed with Master of Arts in Humanities. She has participated in many exhibitions, the last of which was “Meeting by the fireplace” in Jurmala City Museum in 2019. The works of art are in the collections of many museums: the Museum of the Latvian Artists' Union, the P. Stradi?š Museum of Medical History, the Museum of Riga History and Navigation, Jurmala City Museum, the Daugavpils Museum, etc. The artist's works are in private collections in Austria, Australia, Great Britain, Russia, Sweden, Norway, Germany, etc. I create my works in different techniques. Their choice is determined by the idea I want to express in them. These are textiles, paintings, graphics, etc. It seems important to me that work of art provides a positive charge of energy, because I believe that artists are responsible for the impact of their work on the world around them. At the very least, they should strive to stimulate a responsible attitude towards nature, a climate of human relations, focusing on eternal spiritual values, the unique beauty and fragility of nature. By working in the plein air, I collected impressions from nature to be used in further creative search as a basis for expressing one's ideas, including elements of symbolism in the works. It is more important for me to express my inner vision in the works than to follow the current fashion trends, which sometimes cause dissonance with what is considered to be recognizable in art circles at a certain time. For me art is not production, but a necessity for inner expression.