Shafira Yablonski was born on June 8th, 1938, in Dneprodzerzhinsk, Ukraine. At the age of three, she and her family were evacuated to Kazakhstan due to the outbreak of WWII. Once the war ended and the city of Dneprodzerzhinsk was liberated, they returned to Ukraine. It was here that Shafira spent her childhood and adolescence, developing a deep passion for drawing. At 15, she joined an art studio at the House of Culture, where she learned various painting techniques under the guidance of Dimitry Polak.

After finishing high school, Shafira was accepted into art college and soon began working as an artist alongside Dimitri Polak, who became both her mentor and later her husband. In 1997, the couple immigrated to Israel, where they continued their artistic careers. Shafira's work is heavily influenced by her husband’s teachings and the Impressionist movement, a style that continues to shape her art today.