My name is Julia Bushuhina, I live in Stary Oskol, Belgorod region, Russia. How did I start started beading? With flowers. Once I was searching over Internet gerbera flowers, just to remember how they look like. I found and liked one bouquet, very beautifully decorated, with beautiful flowers. On a small photo they seemed to me real, but when I opened the big picture, I was stupefied - the flowers were manmade from beads! I knew about beads, when I was a child my cousin introduced me with them. The most usual story - we've woven simple baubles from Chinese beads...
Flowers were created by Elena Bashkatova, one of the best masters in the field of beading (I think, that opinion is not only mine). I clicked the link and opened the website - like Lewis Carroll's Alice opened the door to the Wonderland, and there was no return to me from that Land. I found there lots of beadweavers - a whole galaxy of bead stars and lots of beginners like myself. It was 2009, March, spring!
From the beginning I tried to do all in my own way. If this was a pattern - I changed it, if I was inspired by someone's design - I didn't make an exact replica. My friends praised all my creations, even the first ones woven from Chinese beads. I liked them too... For the time being! I made a new step, and old work already seemed childish crafts.
Then I found the opportunity to buy Czech beads in my city, and for me, these small bright balls became an accomplishment. They looked so smooth in comparison with the production of Chinese factories! I still remember how I was happy I was holding my first bag of Czech beads! Only later I discovered online shopping and learned about Japanese seed beads, and then I did stopped buying anything else.
In 2011 I had my debut in competitions. Until then, I read a lot of bead contests, but didn't dare to participate - I thought it was too early for me. Then there was a "home" contest announced on the same website where I came across the wonderful flowers among beadweavers whom I knew. Moreover, by that time I have already started designing my beadworks from scratch. This organizers even planned prizes and awards and participation promised to be interesting.
The theme of the contest was "Indian Summer" - a wide scope for the imagination! I won the first place with my bracelet "Autumn In The Old Park" and it gave me wings and added courage to take part in more serious competitions. My next step was very big - just above your head... In 2012 I decided to try my luck and entered the "Fashion Colorworks" submitting the entire set "Autumn In The Old Park" (necklace, bracelet and earrings). To my joy, I was awarded the prize "Best Newbie"!
Participation in the "Fashion Colorworks" was a new step forward in development for me because it's not a "lightweight" but serious international competition with an authoritative jury panel and strict requirements. This year I managed to make even two beadworks, which is extremely rare to me; I created the hairpin "Dancing Summer" and a brooch in the form of lizard, "Venus Salamander."
Hairpin was my completely new experience. Firstly, I have never before done anything like this. Second, earlier I did not use as many varieties of materials in one work. I commissioned an artist working with wire for the pin itself, molded heads of butterflies from polymer clay and had to work with wire mastering "bodies". Well, of course, stones, seed beads, Czech beads. And all this was twisted, woven and combined to get a miniature of two dragonflies.
Incidentally, the idea was prompted by my customer. She loves the creativity of the French jeweler Rene Lalique, and she ordered me a decoration based on one of his works. Of course, my creation is far from the original work of the Great Artist, but I think I mostly managed with my task.
My second entry, the "lizard" brooch is a replica of my previous work in the contest colors. Before I've created orange salamanders, and blue agama, and classic green beauties. Since required colors didn't match the natural colors, I had to invent an inhabitant of the other planets. Or maybe even a mythical beast. Somehow, I associate this color combination with Venus and I named my creature "Venus Salamander." Whether it's a being from Venus, or a lizard of the Goddess Venus.
By contrast, I used in this beadwork just one type of material - only seed beads, but the smallest of its widely available varieties. Small size allows clearly enough "to draw" a pattern of the lizard skins, and make it like the scaly skin a real lizard in touch.
I must say, I could always manage natural motifs easier. It is much harder for me to create something fabulous, fanciful, and fantastic. And it's seen in my beadworks; in addition to the dragonflies and lizards, I like weaving flowers and snakes, and butterflies, and even scorpions. I try to make all of them as realistic as possible.
For all the time during which I have been doing beadwork, I got favorite techniques and methods like other beadweavers. And yet I'm not limited to one direction, I like to embroider, and weave, and knit with beads. I'm very happy when different techniques combine harmoniously in one item. This is what lies in my future plans - to develop the combination of different materials and techniques and new kinds of craftwork, which could be used with beadwork, and to develop my own way and style.
I really hope that my ideas come true and that I will succeed. I must say, not without the help of contests. Participation in them is a strong incentive for new achievements. And first of all - participation in the "Fashion Colorworks," because at the moment it is the only competition that I try not to miss. And if I don't enter, I watch its progress and results with interest.
My gallery on MyLovelyBeads.com
About author:
| Julia Bushukhina, Stariy Oskol, Belgorod region, Russia | |
| Email: | beaded.sun@yandex.ru |
| Facebook: | facebook.com/profile.php?id=100006956651358 |
| Online Shop: | livemaster.ru/purplesun |
