Please follow me on my socials (I’m most active on Instagram). Thank you! 😊
About Me
My name is Taras Harkavyi and I’m an artist and prop-maker. I came to Canada from Ukraine🇺🇦 with my mom and dad at the age of 12 in the mid ‘90s. After high school and into my university years, I had a brief music career, which culminated with the release of my debut music album called “Liftoff” (link to Spotify) in 2006.
The single from the album “I Will Love Again” was nominated for a Canadian Juno music award in 2007.
In addition to making my own music, during my time in the music industry I produced several remixes for artists like Britney Spears and Michelle Branch, which helped fund my ongoing university education at the time.
After graduating from the University of Winnipeg with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology and a Bachelor of Arts in Religious Studies, I entered the public service as an officer with the Canada Border Services Agency where I would spend the next 11 years.
During this time I learned discipline, responsibility, but most importantly, I was able re-discover a childhood passion for making things with my hands, which I did in my spare time on my long stretches of days off.
See, I used to be quite creative as a kid...
(Above: a 12 year-old me in a Batman costume I made out of garbage bags, tape, and cereal boxes)
… but then I grew up and became a boring busybody, spending too much time working and not enough playing.
With the release of BioWare’s Star Wars: the Old Republic in 2011, my inner kid suddenly woke up. Inspired by the story and Blur Studio’s epic cinematic trailers, I decided it was time to get creative again. I began researching various prop-making methods, and over the next two years turned my two car garage into a hobby workshop where I could create my art.
I taught myself how to model on the computer, investing in numerous tools, 3D printers, and other gadgets which greatly increased my productivity. I started this website so I could showcase my fan art projects and share the methods and techniques I’d learned (and continue to learn) along the way, documenting both successes and failures with the hopes of helping other DIY enthusiasts like myself to make cool things at home.
A few years ago, I bamboozled a wonderful lady to fall head over heels for my old pup Rusty (rest in peace, my old friend), and in the process she took somewhat of a liking to me as well. Her name is Annette, and together we built a shop in our back yard, which became the new official home of Mynock’s Den.
In 2019, I quit my 11-year career in Law Enforcement to pursue my passion in prop-making, which brings us to the present day.
I hope you find something useful or interesting for yourself in these webpages I’ve compiled over the years, and if not, I thank you kindly for stopping by anyway! 😊
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