My name is Elina Ivanova, I live in a small town in the Donetsk region. My work with beads began when I got interested my mother's hobby. At that time, it was 90s, making small creatures like crocodiles and mice, as well as simple baubles and bangles from beads was in fashion. And my mother caught by this bead "disease" has woven such items too, and so have I after my mom.
Soon after I got my first bead book. Basically there were patterns of simple bracelets for girls. I wove a lot and wore my jewelry almost without taking it off. We had a funny belief that when you do something, you need to make a wish, and when your piece breaks your wish will come true soon!
Then all my work seemed to me masterpieces, but in two years I was given a very beautiful beadwork magazine, and I fell in love with that craft. I haven't seen such smart bead jewelry like in that magazine, though now I find them pretty simple. This time my hobby received a second life.
I started making jewelry, they were mostly made using netting stitch with square rope fringes. Then I had a desire to create something new and unique, not by existing patterns, and I began to weave flowers. I have woven them even today sometimes switching to non-flower pieces.
Early in my career I tried bead embroidery and even made a couple of bracelets, but embroidery seemed to me boring, for me it was much more fun to engage in weaving. Although maybe someday I will return to this technique.
As it sounds trivial, I get inspiration from nowhere. I make some necklaces just because I want to weave a particular flower. I learn a living creature of nature (or on a photo) and try to recreate this miracle in my beadwork. Certainly, Mother Nature cannot be surpassed, I understand it very well and just give a try to replicate a natural splendor modestly with glass beads.
Ideas of my beadworks arise from something seen or heard sometimes even unconsciously - after watching the a movie or after music. Or even when I look at the world around you, at people or architecture. And sometimes I just want to implement attractive, in my opinion, combination of colors and shades.
I draw sketches for my works very rare. There were moments when I've done this, select materials, but eventually woven quite different design and even from other materials, and the original sketch was postponed until better times. So I cannot follow a clear plan and often begin to weave some one element (frankly speaking, as a rule it is a flower), and then come up where to attach it.
I'm very fond of watching beadworks of other artists, it seems to me that the beading can be learned forever and you will always find something new, whether it is a technique, a combination of colors or materials. I have a technical background and I imagine beading as applied mathematics, geometry, mechanics, even in the free-form.
When I weave - that's a pure arithmetic with the numbers: how many beads of one type you need to string, how many of another. And when you put together elements of a necklace, then geometry and mechanics come to assist because you need to keep harmony, balance and shape.
I like to see replications of my beadworks by other artists, anyway their results are different; and I feel a sense of immodest pride. The publications of my work can be found in Fashion and Beading Polska magazines. I wish all who are already engaged in beadwork - inspiration, and those who haven't begun beadweaving yet - start it! It's a great fun!
My gallery on MyLovelyBeads.com
About author:
| Elina Ivanova, Donetsk region | |
| Email: | elinamandarina1986@gmail.com |
| Blog: | elinawonderland.blogspot.com |
| Facebook: | facebook.com/elina.ivanova.16?fref=ts |
| Etsy Shop: | etsy.com/shop/Elinawonderland |
