The 14-year-old artist with the poetic name of Othom de Forest gained worldwide fame when in 2001, the Discovery TV channel live announced her as a "genius artist". The major media vied with each other to tell the story of the seven-year-old artist and her works, which in their execution resembled the works of world-famous authors.
Otom began experimenting with paint at the age of five, when her father was engaged in painting wooden furniture. Noticing the incredible talent in the child, the parents supported the girl in all her endeavors: they bought brushes, paints, canvases. They even converted their music studio into her studio. In 2001, Otom held the first exhibition, and then an auction, from which her works were sold for more than $100,000. She was invited to Harvard University, where she gave a lecture on the importance of teaching art in schools. Now the works of Othom de Forest are exhibited in international galleries along with paintings by Andy Warhol, Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse and Jasper Johns.
