Featured artist: Anastasiya Prosvetova, Prosvetovaart. Acrylic painting

When you see a picture that's touching to you, you wants to know more about its creator. That what happened with us when we see the beautiful works of our team member, Anastasiya at her shop, Prosvetovaart. So we contacted her and asked to tell us a bit about herself and her artistic inspiration. Anastasiya agreed and we are happy to share her story with you, our dear readers.

 Here is her story:

My name is Anastasiya Prosvetova and I am an artists from St. Petersburgh, Russia. I paint little gentle winged creatures who leave me when they find people who love them. It was sad at first, especially when the first angels were gone but I am always happy for them. Their light images are always a part of me and my new creations.

New images are coming and staying with me. They are waiting for the right moment and showing me their story like a colorful slide show. Where they are coming from?

... The snow was softly falling on the ground this morning. Here is a new image, a new story. The pencil is begging me to pick it up. The magic is coming from daily life. You just need to look around and see the inspiration.

 When you take a thought trapped in your mind and turn it into your image it's like freeing a bird from a cage. You feel light and excited. You are  not sad about anything and you do not think about anything. The world around you is kind and beautiful.

And this is my favorite state of mind.

Interview by Tanya Socksandmittens

The long awaited spring

The spring we waited for all winter long, is here!

The birds are singing, the trees are blooming and there is so much more of these nice sunshiny days!

Spring is a great time to create.

Inspiration is waiting for you on every corner! Don't fight it, just grab your favorite tools and find some time just for your hobby! It is going to be so much fun!

Our team members are also enthused. We live all over the planet but we all are happy to welcome spring no matter where we live!

Please stop by our shops to see if you find anything you like or need. We created it for you with spring in our hearts!

Interview with a Star, Svetlana from nesluxury

Please, welcome Svetlana who runs Nesluxury shop on Etsy. Today, she is sharing her inspirational story with us.



Please tell us a little bit about yourself
My name is Svetlana, I was born in Kazakhstan and moved to Siberia after high school. I moved to Israel after graduation. Now I live in Haifa in Northern Israel and work at the Haifa University. My day-to-day work involves lots of numbers, statistics, programming and different really boring scientific related things. After that, all I really want to do (except spending time with my baby son Tom) is to create, create, create.


How long have you been creating? How did your journey in art and creativity begin?
As far as I can remember, I loved to create by hand. I draw, cut, glued, sculpted and built. I used paper, clay, metal wires, cones, sticks and stones from my father’s work room and the yard or the forest. When I grew up, I learned how to sew, knit and weave from my mom and grannies. My mother told that me that I was 12 month old when I took a pencil for the very first time… but she does not say, what I drew! When I was a teenager I studied in an art school for 5 years before moving to more “earthly” matters.


What is the best reaction you have gotten from one of your pieces?
Once it was a five-o'clock tea party at my friend's place in the Technion campus. A few young women gathered to chat and to look at my first flower creations. I made a jewelry set with large peachy pink flowers and some mint green seed beads among them. When I took it out of the box, three girls wanted to buy it immediately and they began to argue. At the end, the girl who had cash, got the set and I got two custom orders.


Do you take custom orders?
I love to do custom orders. This way I know in advance that this will be an item the customer will love and cherish. My favorite customer is a woman, who works with me in my institute and who I see every day. She orders something from me every season when she buys new clothes. I really like to see that she wears my jewelry with pleasure. Recently I was really honored to see a few of our friends wearing my items to one of our mutual friend's wedding. I made this jewelry especially for them!


What items in your shop do you enjoy making most and why?
It is definitely small roses because I really like the feel of the thin layers of polymer clay between my fingers. I see their birth petal by petal and it soothes me.


What are your main sources of inspiration?
I really don't know. It just comes to me! Sometimes I see a dully dressed girl and I am getting ideas how to improve her appearance. Sometime I find interesting and inspiring stuff on the Internet or I look at my materials (polymer clay, beads, silk or metal findings) and just begin to create.


Do you have a Favorite quote you'd like to share with us?
"You never know when you'll luck out." It is the very first phrase in the "The stranger" by Max Frei and I totally agree with him!

My trip to Belgium

Where is your inspiration coming from?  Mine is coming from different sources but one of it is my travel impressions. 

 Last month my husband and I visited two cities in Belgium, Antwerpen and Bruges. I liked both cities very much, they are so wonderful. 

 I liked the old buildings, delicious chocolate, Christmas atmosphere and a girl's best friend, diamonds.

 When we were in Antwerpen my husband and I went to see a movie "In Bruges" after our baby went to sleep in a evening. My husband had seen this movie before but wanted me to see it also. This is an action movie but you can see beautiful Belgian cities too. So later it was nice to see a "In Bridges" poster at the hotel, right next to a reception counter. 

 I liked the charm of Bruges with it's channels, a wonderful market place, silent side streets and cathedrals.

I was really happy to spend some time taking pictures with my camera.

This trip made me feel recharged and full of energy. I was happy to come back home and use my new ideas in my creations.

Please stop by my nihamaj shop on Etsy to see my colorful toys and other pretty things!

My best wishes and happy inspiration,

Yana (nihamaj).

Some thoughts on art, exhibitions and inspiration

The art exhibits are very powerful source of inspiration for me. I love to see the wonderful works of art and always trying to see as many art shows as possible.

 According to the Art Basel Miami Beach website, the event is known as the most prestigious art show in the Americas.  Over 250 leading galleries from all over the world take part, showcasing works by more than 2,000 artists of the 20th and 21st centuries.  Since the first exhibition held ten years ago, a greater number of art collectors, artists, dealers, curators, critics and art enthusiasts from around the world participate in Art Basel Miami Beach - the favorite winter meeting place for the international art world.

 The exhibiting galleries are among the world's most respected art dealers, offering exceptional pieces by both renowned artists and cutting-edge newcomers.  Special exhibition sections feature young galleries, performance art, public art projects and video art.  The show is a vital source for art lovers, allowing them to both discover new developments in contemporary art and experience rare museum-caliber artworks.  Top-quality exhibitions in the museums of South Florida and special programs for art collectors and curators also help make the event a special time for encountering art.

 This year's 10th anniversary show marked my 3rd Art Basel experience.  As I walk through the exhibition and view each piece, a handful of pieces inspire my future creations.  

 For instance, after this year's show, I have introduced my used coffee grounds into my paintings. 

 This process have not only given me more recyclable or “green” ideas, but simply adding the coffee grounds and coffee beans to my painting has given them a more unique quality to my creations.

Other exhibits provided inspiration for my latest jewelry designs which I am currently preparing.

 For the people considering whether or not to attend the next Art Basel show in Miami Beach, I would HIGHLY recommend it. This is wonderful and I am sure, you will get inspired, too!

  

Story by Vera (Luxurybyvera) and Mike,

Photography by Katya Gubanova

Winter fun

Winter is a beautiful time of the year.

The snow is covering many parts of the country and it is a fun time of year for us all with lots of activities.

It is great to be able to ski during the weekends or just have a snowball fight.

It's also nice to play chess with the friend by the frosty window and to look out at the quiet white field.

It's is also cozy to sit in front of a fireplace with your knitting  and a cup of steamy coco that will cheer you up and make you feel warm.

Winter is always an inspirational time for the painters and photographers.

And for us crafter's souls it is also time to get cozy, think of what inspires us the most and make some little cute gifts for the coming holidays for ourselves or the people we love.

Don't say you are too busy, there is always a time for the holidays in our hearts!

Get crafty!

By Tanya Socksandmittens

Alice in Wonderland

“Alice was beginning to get very tired of sitting by her sister on the bank, and of having nothing to do. Once or twice she had peeped into the book her sister was reading, but it had no pictures or conversations in it, “and what is the use of a book”, thought Alice, “without pictures or conversations?”…”

Photo sources from top, then left to right: 1, 2, 3, 4

The ever popular “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” is the kind of book that does not make you bored. It sure has some conversations to keep you entertained. We know it from childhood yet we still find it fascinating through our adult years.

Photo sources from top, then left to right: 1, 2, 3, 4

The story of Alice brings out the magical world with riddles, logic games and puns, and strange creatures; it stimulates our imagination; it inspires us to blend fantasy with reality.

Photo sources from top, then left to right: 1, 2, 3, 4

“Take some more tea”, the March Hare said to Alice, very earnestly.
“I’ve had nothing yet”, Alice replied in an offended tone, “so I can’t take more.”
“You mean you can’t take less”, said the Hatter; “it’s very easy to take more than nothing.”

Photo sources from top, then left to right: 1, 2, 3, 4

Every now and then all of us need to travel down the rabbit hole to break away from bogging routines. Sometimes we need a mad tea party to give us a fresh perspective on things and inspire our imagination. Taking some time with a good book such as “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” is a great way to bring more creativity into your life.

Story by Yana (WineCountryLife)

Inspired by Lavender

People have appreciated lavender since ancient times. The fragrant, pale purple flowers have a calming and soothing scent for which they are famous. Lavender buds are often used in potpourris or are made into sachets to be placed among stored items of clothing to give a fresh fragrance and to deter moths. Dried lavender flowers have become recently popular for wedding confetti. Lavender is also great in scented waters and other organic cosmetic products.

Photo sources from top, then left to right: 1, 2, 3, 4

The wonderful fragrance of lavender is not the only inspiring aspect of these unpretentious flowers. Many artists are inspired by the old romantic feel that lavender brings with it. We instantly think of peaceful countryside when we see lavender.

Photo sources from top, then left to right: 1, 2, 3, 4

The beautiful color of lavender has also inspired many crafters to replicate it in jewelry and accessories. Isn’t it hard to resist?

Photo sources from top, then left to right: 1, 2, 3, 4

Lavender is a great source of inspiration - whether it’s the beautiful color, the wonderful fragrance, or the romantic feel of these ancient flowers. So plant some in your back yard or buy a pot of lavender for your window sill – and get inspired!

Photo sources from top, then left to right: 1, 2, 3, 4

Story by Yana (WineCountryLife)

Some tips to escape depression in creativity

We used to think that our everyday job is something we do unwillingly waiting for the end of working day. I have good news – there exist lucky individuals who are interested in what they are busy with and moreover everyday full time job inspire to create fantastic items and sell them on Etsy.

Arctida’s interest in natural science (she is a Cancer researcher) is one of main inspiration sources for her art.


berezki’s love for combination of the industrial, geometric and organic, as she told me, was the influence of her background in architecture.


Being a musician rumosaic07 conceives by images. “I take the key of F major like royal blue and D flat minor like dark brown. Create my artworks I hear the harmonic equivalent of them– inlaying mosaic or crocheting I am in the music sphere”.


allmadewithlove often visits antique markets, where one can find timeless beautiful things, they inspire her for making the vintage style creations with a new look.


“Fashion is my passion and my profession –allmadewithlove explained me - Everything retro and antique, such as books, historical movies, fashion magazines, are my inspirations”.
Oh! Don’t miss here another tip how to get inspiration – look through masterpieces of talented brilliant artists!

yelenalamm always finds a great source of energy in connections with other artists - whether communicating on personal level, visiting an art gallery or a museum, browsing through online portfolios including many amazing talents on Etsy, or in her favorite art books.


marina826 is also inspired by artist of different times, nations, schools that she enjoys in museums, art galleries, books and in the I-net and take a positive supply of creativeness.


I should agree with CityCrochet’s words - All these beautiful things created by artisans of Etsy inspires to create something by yourself!


Two years ago Lulya found a website Etsy, and a Jewelry section. “I saw a lot of the most beautiful jewelry in different stores and just lit up the idea of learning to do the jewelry by myself . And I continue to learn to this day”.


Another great idea told me WineCountryLife: “ I'm inspired by my customers - people who choose handmade over mass produced, value personal warmth and individual attention, and appreciate the love and energy that I put in my products. They give me motivation, provide feedback, and generate new ideas. When I create, I think of a person who’ll wear my jewelry or I imagine a person who’ll receive the card I'm making.


And MamaTita’s inspiration was from the clients. The customer ordered her butterflies for the wedding and she decided to start to make decors and stationary for weddings


But sometimes we have no need to seek for inspiration because it’s inside us – It’s called FEELINGS! alvant wouldn’t sound strange saying “I can create only when I feel abundance of love and happiness...”


“My inspirations are not only my dreams, but my future, love, breath, tears, feelings, hopes...But my main inspiration is love.” – shared with me serdomania –


“When you look at my drawings,you can not see the faces. Because I am searching for the real love in my drawings.”

So, if you feel lack of creativity may be you should change your work, or communicate with creative people (from Russian Artists team, for example) and the most helpful remedy – TO FALL IN LOVE!))

Stay open hearted!

Lily (heartygift)