Featured artist: Anna Ryasnova, AnnaRyasnova. Felted miniature

We love our pets so we were happy to see  almost identical figurines of our dog's breeds at AnnaRyasnova shop. There are so many interesting items there. Anna, the owner of the shop, works in a needle felting technique and reached a high level in what she does. 

She loves to make miniature pets figurines, especially dogs and every one of them is unique. A happy customer's reaction is what inspires her to create new figurines. She loves the challenge of working with miniatures and trying to make her work even smaller every time. What a great artistic approach!

 

Anna's works can be seen during Miniaturitalia Exhibition in Milan, Italy, on February 7-8, 2016 or visit her shop to see if there is anything that touches you.

Here is what Anna is telling about herself and her creative vision.

"It fills me with gratitude and pride that by today my creations have reached people from such diverse countries as the United States, Australia, Canada, Argentina, Mexico, Thailand, Singapore, Israel, Bulgaria, Russia, Germany, Ireland, England, France, Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Spain. I take inspiration from my three beautiful sons, from nature as a whole and the animal world in particular.
Furthermore I consider it a special honor that so many clients have trusted me with orders to portray their dearest companion animals.

I firmly believe we all can be creators of happiness, for ourselves and for others, if only we allow love and affection to guide us. Everybody can create something, so can make a difference, and help to turn our world in a better place! I hope you will enjoy my works as much as I did making them."

 Interview by Tanya agardencottage

Interview With A Star - Yana at YanArt

Yana is one of the talented felt artist from Ukraine who is also a member of our group. So we asked her to tell us more about herself, her work, her inspiration. She kindly agreed and we are happy to introduce you Yana at YanArt today!

Please tell us a little bit about yourself

My name is Yana. I live in Cherkasy, Ukraine. It’s a beautiful town on the bank of the Dneper river. From my early childhood I liked to draw, sew, knit, and sculpt clay. So sometimes I even wonder why I graduated from the university with an absolutely different major. Probably this is why now I invest more time in my hobby which begins to gradually replace my profession. Of course, it became possible only with the support of my family, and I mean all its members! My beloved cat is always around :)

Tell us more about your work

I learned about felting a few years ago. This particular method attracted me with its variety and unlimited possibilities: you can mix wool in the same way as you mix paints and literally draw with it and see it comes to life in your hands.

Do you use any special techniques or tools?

I prefer to use natural materials in my work: wool, clay and fabrics. Though at the present time I spent much time with felting/needle felting. You can’t often predict the outcome though but the result is always magnificent.

Work with wool is surprising, live, interesting and remarkable. There is no place for ordinary, it is always one of a kind! It is also a constant self-perfection of your own knowledge and techniques. Wool allows you to create felt products using different kinds of fabrics as a basis and different kinds of wool, fibers of silk, banana, etc. It goes further, it’s not only wet felting, but also dry or their combination!

What are your main sources of inspiration?

What gives me inspiration? Just about everything! A beautiful sunset I can see through my window, a bouquet of summer flowers, sparkling raindrops in the spider’s net. All these things are so appealing!

Do you take custom orders?

I do and I am often inspired by the orders themselves. Take a look at my work for a little girl who was only two month old at that time, for instance:

The most touching requests are to create a figurine in memory of a passed pet:

Also, I just have to mention my favorite client, a little Roxolana:)

Each and every of my creations are made with great love. They carry a bit of my soul and warmth of my hands. It is very important for me that everyone could feel it and get the greatest satisfaction possible!

Stylish Things - customized presents

Winter holidays are quickly approaching and we start thinking what presents to give to our beloved ones more and more often.

We want the present to be special, to show our attachment, love and care. We also want the recipient to be really excited about it, to see that joy in their eyes.
Who does not know the torturing doubts and apprehension when choosing that perfect gift, especially when the budget is limited.

There is a great solution for any chosen item to give joy – personalization. This means that nobody else will have the same gift, as it bears the name of the gift’s recipient.

For example, it is so exciting for a child to get a special pillow for the Tooth Fairy. A fairy comes when baby teeth fall out. She buys the tooth, however, in order for this to happen, it has to be put into a secret place – a special pocket with the child’s name.


An elegant gift can be made for a beloved man. It may be a luxurious towel, cashmere scarf or a shirt with embroidered initials. This is so chic, even Trump himself wears such shirts! Aren’t our men worth the same?


Nobody needs to justify tender attachment to their pets. They are members of the family, we tend to celebrate their birthdays, hang a Christmas stocking full with delicious treats for them and study the fashion for warm pet clothing with all seriousness. Why not delight yourself and your family members with a new bed for your favorite pet, for example like this one:


Probably your fluffy joy cannot read, however, this embroidery will definitely bring a lot of pleasure to you and your children.

One shouldn’t forget about themselves any holiday season. A luxurious monogram on bed linen or a dressing-gown, cashmere sweater or napkins will bring you a lot of pleasant moments. It is these elegant embroideries add that hint of femininity and style to our image.


Boutiques FineEmbroidery and FunEmbroidery wish you happy holidays and invite you to give unique personalized gifts to yourself and your beloved ones!



Story by Lana (Fineembroidery)
Translated by Anastasia (Lightkeeping)

Interview With A Star - Yulia Kazansky

Today our feautured guest is Yulia Kazansky who is a member of a Russian Artists Etsy team. Yulia has two shops on Etsy with complitely different content. One of them is yuliaart which has an artistic trend, the other one is Timeagain which features beautiful vintage jewelry, mostly of Russian origin made of amber, turquoise and coral.

Q. Tell us, please a bit about yourself.
I was born and raised in Moscow, a capital of Russia. I got physics degree from Moscow State University. 15 years ago I immigrated to United States with my 2 sons. After living in Minnesota and Alaska I finally settled in North West Washington State, near Seattle. My children are living now in sunny Arizona.

Q. Why did you start making artwork?
As long as I remember myself I was always drawing, painting and making something of colored paper. I started to go to paint on plain air together with my grandfather as soon as I could walk and carry paper and watercolor. He was fine self-taught artist. Later, when I was about 10, my dad introduced me to photography when he bought a cheap simple camera. We even developed films and printed photos ourselves! So I am familiar with the depth of the process.

Q. Your Etsy shop undergone significant transformation recently?
Yes, I closed down my photography shop and right now I am reorganizing my art shop. As a new venue I started to make small art pendants, miniature art work painted on canvas, glued to wooden tile and varnished. I did not forget about photography, too! Usually I take a lot of photos, especially after I bought a new digital camera Nikon 200. I found a way to employ them: I started making digital collage sheets of my own photographs.Most of my fine art photography, paintings and animal portrait paintings are on my new website now: http://www.yuliakazansky.net/

Q. What was behind the idea of opening your vintage jewelry shop, Yulia?
Well, after my aunt passed away in Russia, her sister sent me lots of her and my grandmother's jewelry, semi-precious stones, amber and so on. It was really exciting to receive all of this. I found it is very pleasing esthetically create necklaces, bracelets and earrings of those beautiful stones. I still have whole box to go through...
Follow my blogs: Journal of Shutterfreak and Art by Yulia

Thank you for being with us today, Yulia!