My name is Alina Gorshkova, I live in a small town of Solikamsk, Russia, and for a couple of years I cannot imagine my life without beads. Who would have thought? My plans and dreams have changed as the weather in autumn; I considered I would be a writer, ecologists, cartoonist, designer; but I had no idea that I would be inspired the creation of jewelry!
But, of course, the love to art and desire for creativity have always been in me. After graduating from high school I enrolled in an art school, and this step was a turning point in the development of my tastes and interests. Once I doubted whether it was necessary to enter the Faculty of Painting, but now I understand how much artistic education gave me - elementary knowledge of the composition, color science, art styles are very helpful in my work.
The first try in the creation of jewelry was making flowers from organza, funny and a little naive brooches from felt. It went more serious when I tried to work with leather. Plastic and pleasant, it is still my lovely material for creativity. Almost half of my goods is exactly the flowers of leather and suede.
In addition, I have been creating wedding adornments in different techniques. I haven't consider beading seriously until I came across the pictures of bead embroidery by Guzel Bakeeva. It seemed quite incredible that you can create such grandiose, fascinating works from beads - plain material for children as I thought then!
By chance I found a small competition and I decided to embroider epaulettes and enter the contest. Not having read a single line of theory, without taking any beading class, I confidently started beading. I could not get enough of what happened, but now it scary to remember: no sketches, curve lines from Chinese beads, no edging, - I just didn't know what it was necessary!
But it's always interesting to figure out everything by yourself and to take the bar higher than capable of doing. The higher ambitions, the steeper the result. And although during these two years working with beads I've not made it often and I created not many jewelry items, but every one of them I've done the most carefully and meticulously, learning new techniques and methods. I believe this approach is correct, it is better to have a few interesting beadworks than to create many of the same type.
One of my jumps "above my head" was the participation in the International Fashion Colorworks Beading Contest. Everything what has come together could not be luckier: my old plans to try my hands at making handbags, inspiring range of warm colors, my love to Art Nouveau and the Slavic folklore. As a result, my Song Of Alkonost Handbag was born in which I combined embroidery, weaving and painting with acrylics.
Selected mythical hero was the paradise maiden-bird Alkonost, whose songs give oblivion, the synthesis of various graphic and decorative techniques, symbolism of plants, - I tried to get as close to the chosen style Apt Nouveau. Creating my work, I experienced some difficulties: there were a dozen attempts to build an ideal pattern, to tone the leather and sew parts together several times, to paint the Alkonost image, - but the more valuable taken experience and more pride for the results!
The victory in two nominations is the best sign that I was able to surpass myself and create a really good work! Such attention to my beadwork motivates and inspires to work with double diligence to seek new ways of development, try different combinations of colors and materials.
I'm only at the beginning of my career and don't consider myself an experienced master, but I think I has already found out my path in beading. Beads proved to be an inexhaustible source of inspiration that gives limitless imagination and self-expression. I would like to become a creator, whose jewelry sinks into the soul, which are wanted to cherish and pass to daughters and granddaughters.
My gallery on MyLovelyBeads.com
About author:
| Alina Gorshkova, Solikamsk, Perm region, Russia | |
| Email: | shua666@mail.ru |
| Blog: | livemaster.ru/myshop/alinagorshkova |
