1. Elena, have the members of your family ever crafted? What kind of crafts did they do?
Crafting has always been a usual occupation. Perhaps more than a hobby - a necessity. I was born in a small village in Altai (Siberia), but grew up in a family of a military officer as a city girl. My parents have often moved from one father's duty station to another, so I sometimes had to live with my grandmother in the village for a long time, and I remember country life very well.
In the house of my grandmother was a spinning wheel and she spun yarn; we wove rugs, quilted, knitted socks, embroidered tablecloths, napkins and clothes. Many things in our house were designed by ourselves, so to be able to do something with our own hands was commonplace for everyone, including me. I cannot imagine my life without crafts, even when watching TV, I'm always doing something.
2. What hobbies did you have in your childhood and youth?
I have had a lot of passions: knitting, skating, drawing, choir singing, but I didn't have anything serious because with each new place of residence I had to discover something new that, on the other hand, was not so bad.
3. Tell us please how and when did you learn about beading?
I made my first simple beaded bracelets when I was in high school. Then such jewelry was very popular, especially among young people, carried away rock music. "Baubles" have been woven with special meaning: each color and pattern meant something. I cannot say whether this was true, but a certain language of patterns have existed then. After that I completely forgot about beads.
During this time I became a designer in the field of publishing and computer graphics, and later married. That's when I gave birth to my first daughter, I again turned to the beads. During my pregnancy, I started knitting children clothes. Once searching on the Internet patterns I came across a knitted toy and was very fascinated by their creation.
One day a relative of mine asked me to do a toy featuring a wedding couple, where the bride had to have a beautiful dress and veil, and here I discovered a long-forgotten box with beads. I made that toy and presented, but didn't close the box with beads! So beading came into my life and have been there to this day.
4. Do you have an artistic or musical education?
I am a teacher of painting and arts and crafts by education. As you know, the curriculum included not only painting, but also many different kinds of crafts, I can even do wood and birch bark carving!
5. Why did you choose beadweaving rather than bead embroidery or other technique?
I deeply respect bead embroidery, but I'm embarrassed for a few moments, the first one is a frequent need to stick elements to the base. Since my childhood, I don't like anything that is glued, I need to be able to assemble and disassemble, and generally something adhered causes a feeling of some kind of insecurity.
The second point is the need to work the edges and back side. To be honest, I rarely met a really high-quality backings. It always looks neat in woven items, what is particularly important in such jewelry as earrings, where both sides are visible to others. Beadwoven items always mean for me the volume and lightness, I also consider as their pluses that they can be soaked and even washed.
6. How do you learn techniques (courses, workshops, self-taught, etc.)?
I'm a self-taught beader, often I learn techniques with the help of the Internet, which gives me and many other people a lot of useful and accessible information. The Internet removes the boundaries between countries and continents, so we can endlessly learn new and take the best from different cultures of the world.
7. Elena, what kind of weaving techniques do you prefer?
I like everything, it is very difficult to highlight just one. I like peyote stitch, especially working on flowers, I learn about shapes, sizes and bend of petals from real ones. Using peyote stitch, you can create beaded airy "lace". I also like square stitch, which allows you to weave very interesting jewelry like geometric-like mazes.
Quite often when creating my jewelry, I use ndebele, as well as netting and right angle weave stitches. I enjoy the diversity of beadwork and its enormous potential for creativity. Now I focus on creating 3-D pieces; multilevel weaving captures and the main thing here is to stop in time.
8. What materials do you enjoy? How about using unusual ones?
I prefer the classic, traditional materials, if I may say so, mostly small beads 15/0. Alas, in my city it is very difficult to buy materials in the shops, so I purchase them over the Internet. But I love to see beads live, with my own eyes! When buying online it's not always possible to guess the actual color, and if an idea hits me and the right material is not present at hand, I'd like to run to a local shop but cannot...
Moreover, when the new types of beads reach me they will be no longer a novelty. However, we've still got a lot to do with traditional beads! I like crystal rivoli, especially 14 mm and, of course, natural stones and cabochons, and I collect them from around the world.
9. Where do you get ideas for your jewelry, what inspires you?
The source of inspiration for my beadworks is usually the world where you can see a beautiful flower, an elegant curl, or an interesting color combination, all created by nature.
10. Is beading for you purely a hobby or a source of income as well? Are you working on commissions or only "at the behest of the soul"?
I think, beading is my hobby although it brings some income. If to compare, I would always prefer a pleasure derived from the process to a commission work, so I would never accept an order to repeat someone else's work or make a piece of jewelry, which I dislike, otherwise then it will be possible to stop loving my passion.
It so happened that the profession of a designer I used to obtain in the past, is useful to me now to create tutorials, I have already released more than 20. I make each instruction very detailed; I'm a self-taught beadweaver, so I try to create the learning material the way I would like it to be, when a student is doing only the first steps in beading. I try the most different topics and am pleased to open the "little tricks".
11. What kind of jewelry and for which customers do you like to create?
I mostly design simple jewelry - well, I do not like huge beadworks. I think they are not functional and I see them as artworks rather than adornments. My works are modest, and I make them for different categories of people to put on to work and in the feast.
12. How long on average do you spend at work?
I spend a relatively long time at work - almost all my free time I dedicate to beading. Now when my children are still small, I can maximum spend a couple of hours a day during my youngest daughter sleep, I cannot pay more time to my hobby.
13. Do you take advice from your loved ones, friends, colleagues?
Of course, my husband is a chief adviser! The eldest daughter is now also beginning to evaluate my work, but they both are always praised me! A more constructive assessment can only be learned from other beadweavers on the forums and in social networks.
14. What creative discoveries have you made for yourself lately?
If you understand "creative discovery" as knowledge of something new, then something similar happens to me almost every day. But there is, however, one very interesting positive opening, associated with my hobby. Before I started beadweaving, I wore dark clothing: black, brown, dark green. When I began beading, then I learned to "see" and love the color. I began to buy bright color clothes, and at the same time I internally felt more free and happy. The first was a bright crimson coat - my relatives were shocked when they saw it on me!
15. Have you ever desire to surprise and shock others with your beadworks?
I do not think about this question, probably not. I just do what I like, what I want, what goes from my heart and soul.
16. What qualities are necessary to the master to get creative heights?
Diligence and desire to work, although an inner sense of harmony cannot hurt.
17. What do you think about collective creativity and initiatives?
It works for me, but as long as my children are still small, I cannot actively participate in interesting initiatives. Although... When I didn't have the children, there wasn't beading in my life!
18. Are you taking part in competitions, exhibitions? Results?
I've tried a couple of times, but didn't always have enough time to make plans. However, I'm not particularly upset. Participation in competitions is in my plans.
19. What else are you fond of except beading?
I like cooking like a maniac, especially pastries! I know how to knit, and sometimes do that - when it's needed. I know how to sew, but really do not like it, only when some things need to be altered.
20. Elena, what is written in your "To learn", "To do", "To achieve" lists?
Participation in major competitions, such as "Fashion Colorworks." Now I set a goal to learn how to create woven beadworks like Huichol tribe Indians, their jewelry and not only are very entertaining and colorful. Despite the fact that I have been beading for more than six years, I still consider myself a beginner master, and I've got so much to learn and try!
Thank you, Elena! We wish you success - and teach your daughters to bead!
My gallery on MyLovelyBeads.com
About author:
| Elena Kononova, Novosibirsk, Russia | |
| Email: | hellenca@list.ru |
| Online Shop (tutorials): | mk-hellenca.livemaster.ru |
| Online Shop (jewelry): | hellenca.livemaster.ru |
| Facebook: | facebook.com/hellenca.kononova?fref=ts |
