My name is Elena Vanyukov; I was born and live in Moscow, Russia. Since I can remember, all the time I was fond of creative work. It all started with children's plays with my brothers and sisters. Preparation, from costumes to decorations has been carried out for a long time, I've been the main inspirer and organizer.
I loved to draw and mold out of clay. Well, of course, I've been doing crafts - sewing, knitting, gluing some things out of paper. At the time, even the question arose - what to do in life. Those teachers who were engaged in drawing with me, pulled me to art school. My teachers in the music school were sure that I would be a musician.
As a result, the music overpowered. And so, I am a certified musician, violinist, however, being out of practice for a long time. Playing music is a daily exercise, and life was such that I had to work a lot in different countries, and I didn't have the possibility of playing music seriously.
I consider the Gnessin State Musical College my main professional musical school. And although I graduated from the Pedagogical Institute as a music teacher later, Gnessin College left my principal and loved source of education. The only advantage of the institute was that it had the Department of Social Professions where I attended a course of painting and drawing.
After graduation, the question arose of where to work. And where I could go with my 1.5 year old son, if not to the kindergarten as a musician? My job was really creative! How many my own event scenarios in verse were written, how many children's costumes were sewn, I'm not talking about decorations! I even had to go on courses and learn how to make paper flowers because I needed chamomiles for one of the child performances.
All this happiness lasted until my family (by that time I already had two sons) left Russia for a business trip to America. That ended my creative work for many years. While there, I sewed costumes for my children for the holidays and they looked so handsome in my clothes! At that time I didn't know anything about beads and even could not imagine that ever beads would become everything to me and fully take my soul.
Once in the next period of time between trips I was looking for a job. I didn't want to go back to kindergarten, although they called me. For some reason, I was not interested to work with children anymore. In one of the newspapers I found the announcement of how to get additional income making jewelry from beads and they promised to teach. I came just to see what it was and fell in love...
I started to learn, but soon realized that what I was taught didn't satisfied me. When I asked questions on how to make high quality I haven't received full answers. And then I began to look for teachers and found Galina Pchelkina whom I am very grateful for lessons. I received from her almost all the basics of beading.
If you think that here, at last, began my "bead period", then you make a big mistake. Here again there was a long trip, now to India. There were a lot of beads produced locally but I was "spoiled" by Czech beads that seemed to be the best in the world. Now I understand that uneven beads could be also used for making something beautiful too and find my thoughts funny. But then I chose cross-stitching thinking that when your hands are busy your thoughts are free!
I probably would have never ever returned to beadwork, if not the case. The sister of my husband began making simple jewelry from beads. She showed me bead embroidery by Guzel Bakeeva on the Internet and the world turned upside down! By that time I have never seen such beauties. How can I also wanted to do something like that. And I started... I must say that my first necklaces that seemed to me fine then, I don't show to anyone. I'm ashamed because they look crooked, clumsy and poor.
During this period I couldn't come across on the Internet at bead forums. A lot of useful I found there, learned about many masters, which previously I had not heard about. I didn't register for a long time because I believed that my work was unworthy of this beautiful community. Just at this moment, I believe, I entered into this wonderful world - a world of beads.
Have I tried to replicate beadworks by some artists? Probably - no. Although I'd like to embroider the same roses as by Olga Orlova, I realized that her flowers come from her soul. Producing copies is not my thing. Of course, I watch closely what other artists create and constantly learn from them. But I still try to do as my own vision and heart tells me.
Here is another conclusion to which I came - I always redo my work if I don't like or assume I made a mistake, even a little. Before I didn't do that even though I felt that I wouldn't like my finished beadwork. That's why I'm working slowly now reworking my designs several times.
How do the ideas come to me? Yes, I really don't even know. Sometimes I see a beautiful stone or bead - and a design is already born in my head. And if that happens, then the work is moving quickly. I do not even have to draw a sketch of my future beadwork, it's already in my mind. That way my necklace with ametrines was created. The stones were given to me as a New Year's gift. And I immediately realized that this should be something light, almost airy. Beads laid down themselves, I just aligned the stones as wanted. So far, I like this necklace best of all, although it has already passed into other hands, I hope good ones.
But this is not always the case. Very often I simply draw what comes to my mind in my notebook and later on I design jewelry based on those pictures, but many sketches remain just on paper. These beadworks take much more time because there is a form but I don't always see what and how "to fill" it. The sample in this series is Geometry Of The Circle Necklace. I wanted something in oriental style. At first there was just a form and then I long thought of how to implement my idea. In addition, since the work was being made for the Fashion Colorworks Contest I had to feature one of the contest color combinations. All the time I wanted to add one more shade, and not as a supplement but as an equal main color.
The next stage, which I like the most is the selection of materials to work. I get all that fit, in my opinion, and pile up in a box. I might have several such boxes for several works. Sometimes I assort that stuff because I can be disappointed in the idea or suddenly realize that a cabochon or a bead requires a different design and, consequently, different materials.
In general, I've got lots of dreams and ideas - and just have no time to do everything. Over a year ago I decided to learn frivolite with beads and took courses by Ekaterina Stepnaya. I love beadworks in this style by Alla Vizir. And though my hands are not "adapted" to work with a shuttle, I won! Of course, I still need to improve and sharpen my skills. Many thanks to Ekaterina for her lessons and patience.
Now I almost completely switched to small beads; jewelry from it is more elegant and, I would say, fine. I'm planning to try combination of lace with beads and leather with beads. I love beadweaving but this technique is harder for me than embroidery. I think I don't have proper 3-D vision and to improve that ability I even took workshops by Ann Braginsky to understand how to make beaded beads. I don't hesitate to learn from the masters and like taking workshops; I always learn something new there.
Beading is my hobby that doesn't let me go even if I'm engaged in other types of craft. Of course, it's nice if someone buys my jewelry. There are also infrequent commissions although I prefer not to take them, especially if asked to repeat something. In that case I try to offer some updates in designs. It is not always working for the customers but sometimes there are rare exceptions and such customers are gifts for me.
I try not to enter competitions because they take me a lot of efforts and I feel pressure on me from the fact that a contest entry should be done by a certain date and some conditions should be kept, such as the mandatory use of materials or a theme. Frankly, I must say that those competitions in which I participated gave me some impetus. The first and lucky for me was the contest held by the Green Bird bead shop, my work "The Mystery of the Scythians" took the 3rd place there.
And then I felt the strength gained confidence that I can create something interesting, there was some kind of courage. Another contest which I enter every year is Fashion Colorworks. First, I like the warm and welcoming atmosphere of the competition and the intrigue that lasts until the last moment. Well, the most important thing for me is that it makes you think and actively use colors by adding different shades to the dominant primary color triad. The Fashion Colorworks 2013 brought me luck; my Scarlet Sails Tie was awarded a special prize of Perlen Poesie Magazine that allowed me to enjoy a wonderful magazine a whole year.
In 2014 autumn I had a stagnant period in creativity related to the circumstances that didn't allow me to do beadwork. But now the beads again with me and I'm glad madly. I'm trying to bead every day, beading is rest and work at the same time, it is joy and happiness. It is good that we found each other!
My gallery on MyLovelyBeads.com
About author:
| Elena Vanyukova, Moscow, Russia | |
| Email: | levana60@mail.ru |
| Online Shop: | www.livemaster.ru/levana60 |
| Facebook: | facebook.com/profile.php?id=100004981752829 |
