Weekly Featured Artist/Etsy Seller--Mariola

Before moving forward with my next weekly feature I would like to thank Elena of Elena's Fancy Beads and Elena's Felting for being a great feature!   I really enjoyed working with you and we all loved your creations!

Darwin Fish

This week's featured artist and Etsy seller is a lovely lady by the name of Mariola, a resin jewelry artist and owner of Clear Beauty (what an awesome name for a shop full of resin pieces!).  I stumbled upon Mariola's work about a month ago and instantly knew I had to feature her.  As a beginner in resin work I am very envious of Mariola's flawless work and her definite style.  Many of her pieces include fun, kitschy focals such as the Titanic, Uncle Sam, Da Vinci's Vitruvian Man, and my favorite, Munch's The Scream.  These necklaces are high quality and VERY affordable, and there is something for every personality!

Blood Orange Extra Large Pendant

While I love Mariola's pop culture necklaces, what really caught my eye was her fruit jewelry...yes, they contain REAL fruit!   These necklaces, pendants, rings, and earrings are so gorgeous I couldn't stop looking at them.  I am amazed at how Mariola managed to keep the bright colors inherent to fresh fruit and at how flawless her resin work is, especially when working with what I imagine to be difficult subjects.  And her photos truly capture the lusciousness of the jewelry.  I just want to take a bite out of my computer monitor! 

So naturally I had some questions for Mariola, which she happily answered for us.

Strawberry Silver Ring

Kiwi Earrings

Orange Diamond Shaped Pendant

Banana Pendant

Edvard Munch's The Scream Pendant

Edgar Allen Poe Pendant

Tarot Death Card Pendant

Erika with a K: Hi Mariola! Love your work and also love your shop’s name, Clear Beauty. How clever! Before we begin, can you tell us a little about yourself and your life?

Mariola: Hi! I'm a 25 year old woman, living in the UK for 5 years with my husband. We both came from Poland. I have full time work and my hobby – jewelry.  Apart from that I'm very happy, sometimes crazy, but always with a big smile on my face!

Erika with a K: So my first burning question is how did you get the idea to use real fruit in your jewelry?

Mariola: As a little girl I use to put fresh cherries on my ears, pretending they were earrings! I love fruits, love their colors, taste and look. Dried slices of orange were always hanging on the Christmas tree (and my ears, of course ;-) ) But they never last for long.
When I started working with resin I remembered the dried fruits... And I thought: Let's try to cover them with resin! And it's worked!
First I have made orange earrings, after I tried kiwi, and strawberries, and bananas... They all looked cool – dried and covered with resin.

Erika with a K: How did you get started working with resin?

Mariola: Well, in that point, everything started from my husband...
He became interested in a mix of resin and marble dust.
The thing is that resin gives you many opportunities. All you need is just head of thousands ideas!

Erika with a K: What brand of resin do you use?

Mariola: I am still experimenting with resin but at the moment my favorite is Ice Resin.

Erika with a K: How long does it take for you to finish one of your pieces?

Mariola: Considering the fact that I have full time work, it's take about 7 days.

Erika with a K: For people like me who are just beginning resin work, what advice can you give us?

Mariola: The most important one – don't give up! You also have to be patient and practice a lot!
Do not worry if something will go wrong – that will make you closer to success.

Erika with a K: Do you work in any other jewelry techniques? Do you work in other art media?

Mariola: It's like I said before – I keep experimenting. My head is full of many ideas and I hope I will improve my shop soon. But at the moment resin is the main material.

Erika with a K: I know you have just begun on Etsy. Is this your first business endeavor, or have you sold your work elsewhere?

Mariola: Yes, Etsy is my first serious business endeavor. But I hope to extend my business in the future.

Erika with a K: What advice can you give us about business and/or starting an Etsy shop?

Mariola: Believe in yourself and don't give up. I know it's hard to be beginner on Etsy. It can take a while before you will sell something. But – be optimistic!

Erika with a K: Your photos are lovely. Do you take them yourself? If so, can you give us some ideas about taking high quality photos?

Mariola: Yes, I'm doing all photos myself.
To make high quality photos you will need a good camera. Light is also important too.
Most of the time I'm taking photos outside, in my own garden. But like we all know, Great Britain is a rainy country and in these times I have to use light tent to take photos.
Always remember to take more photos than you need. That will let you chose the best one.
And also remember to check them before you finish.

Erika with a K: Do you wear your jewelry?

Mariola: Yes, of course! I love my orange earrings. Summer it's a perfect time to wear jewelry with nice fresh colors.

Erika with a K: If you could describe yourself in one word, what word would that be?

Mariola: That is the hardest question! But I think it will be PERFECTIONIST.
I like to do my work perfect. I'm doing this for so long until I am 100% sure that it is ideal. (My Husband does not like it especially when I tell him to clean up ;)

Erika with a K: Do you have anything else you would like to say?

Mariola: Thank you for being interested in my shop. I am glad I had the chance to tell you a little bit more about me and my hobby.
I would like to wish everyone loads of luck with their work, hobby and passion!


Thanks so much Mariola for answering my questions!  I wish you the best of luck with your business and your Etsy shop.


Please remember all work and photos are the property of the artist.  Do not reproduce or use without her permission.

Weekly Featured Seller/Artist: Elena of Elena's Fancy Beads and Elena's Felting!

Before we move on to the next (and again postponed...it was my birthday last week!) featured artist and seller, I want to thank Christine, Shay, and Syndey for being such lovely features!  I wish you 3 the best of luck!

Lone Leaf

Moving on, this week's feature is a very multitalented artist and Etsy seller, Elena from Elena's Fancy Beads and Elena's Felting.  This woman is double trouble doing both felting as well as bead weaving, and her creations are so unique and absolutely fabulous!  I found her through her beadweaving (a medium if you know me at all you will know I LOVE!), particularly the piece on the right.  And as soon as I saw her work I knew I had to feature her.  Her beadweaving is SO unique.  She uses mainly peyote stitch, creating tapestry-like and tube pendants, which are very clean, earthy, and fun!  I have never seen anything like it before, and I have seen a lot of bead weaving! 

After talking to Elena, she pointed out to me she also has shop selling her felted creations, Elena's Felting, with more extremely unique work!   Not only does she do the more "usual" felting work, like scarves and shawls, she also creates jewelry, purses, and rugs!  And her felting, like her bead work, is earthy while colorful and absolutely beautiful.  

So I'm sure the question on all of our minds is, How does she have the time to work in 2 mediums in 2 Etsy shops as well as juggling life?  And as always, I feel the artist herself can say more about her work than I, so here is our interview!

Red Passion Bracelet

Erika with a K: Hi Elena! Before we begin I have to tell you I love your work. So unique! And can you tell us a little about yourself?

Elena:  We came to Canada almost 14 years ago from Russia. I have a family – husband, son and dog; I work as a Drafter, and I have two hobbies – felting and bead weaving.

Erika with a K: My first question is how did you begin doing bead weaving? How did you learn?

Elena:  I love stylish and fancy jewelry... jewelry you can wear with evening dress or in the office... One of my friends making beaded jewelry as well, so I thought – why not? I can try and create something different and (I hope) unique, something new, something stylish… And yes - this is my style and I hope you will like it! Talking about learning, it was self-study – I’ve found a lot of free tutorials on Internet, I’ve bought and studied several books about making beaded jewelry. I was making my first bead weaving project more than 2 months starting over again and again until I had result I liked.

Erika with a K: And I noticed you also do felting, how did you learn to do that?

Rustic Wool Shawl and Brooch

Elena:  Yes, I have Etsy store “Elena’s Felting” www.etsy.com/shop/elenasfelting. Felting is a long traditional craft in my native countries Kazakhstan and Russia where I was born and raised. People there continue to use felt in many interesting and creative ways. I learned from a lot of great artists, I had workshops taken here in Canada, England and Russia.

Erika with a K: Which medium do you prefer?

Elena:  I love both mediums I work with – wool and beads.

Erika with a K: What advice can you give anyone who does or wants to begin doing bead weaving or felting?

Elena:  Be patient; practice a lot; take workshops; use any information you can find.

Erika with a K: Who or what are your biggest inspirations?

Elena:  Hard to say… honestly. It’s just coming… Sometimes it takes a time to come up with idea, and sometimes it’s like light strike – boom! and you have complete picture in your mind.

Erika with a K: What do you do in your free time?

Grassy Light Green Wool Silk Pendant

Elena:  You know, I almost have no free time at all ;) I have full time job as Drafter, I have family – husband, son, dog – I’m taking care of, and we have house with large backyard (planting time now!!!), then I am doing my bead weaving and felting… so I am very happy if I just can sit with book or in front of TV for an hour… Saying that, I wouldn’t change my life – I really love what I am doing.

Erika with a K: Do you sell at any other venues besides Etsy? If so, where?

Elena:  I am participating in different local handcraft shows – One of a Kind Show in Toronto, Just For Us Originals, The Moose Show… This year I’ve applied again for One of a Kind Christmas Show and Just for Us Originals.

Erika with a K: What business advice can you give us?

Elena:  It’s pretty hard to start your own successful business… be optimistic, don’t give up, tell yourself – I can do it!

Erika with a K: And I’m dying to know, who is the model in your photos?

Midnight Blue

Elena:  This beautiful woman is my best friend Marina; I desperately needed model to show my felted stuff and fortunately she agreed to try… she is not a professional model, but she is very talented and now she is like beautiful face of my store.

Erika with a K: Is there anything else you want to tell us?

Elena:  Erika, I am very glad you were interested in my beaded jewelry, and I hope your blog readers will like my jewelry as well. Best wishes to all your readers!


Thanks so much Elena!  We wish you a ton of luck in your business!  Keep up the good work.  

Please remember all photos and designs are property of the artist and are not to be used without her permission!

And I love my Grandma, too!

Package from Grandma!

So I'm postponing this week's feature until next week, and until then I have some lovely eye candy for you. Yesterday I came home to a huge package of vintage goodies from my grandmother. She sent me so many beautiful things, I was ecstatic!  All of the items in the photo (well maybe not ALL of them) I plan on photographing and listing on Etsy.  Stay tuned!  And if you are just dying to own one of the items (the Shirley Temple coloring book, perhaps?), let me know and I will make a reserved listing just for you with a 10% discount!

And because I'm now in vintage mode,  I also want to share with you the gorgeous collection of brooches I have received from both my mom and grandma.  These were originally collected to make brooch bouquets, but honestly, those are nearly impossible to make!  So I gave up, and now plan on listing all of these on Etsy or repurposing into new jewelry pieces.  The same applies as above, if you are interested in a piece, let me know!  And if you are interested in trying your hand a brooch bouquets, I recommend this tutorial....Project Wedding:  DIY brooch bouquet.  Also, here is an example (below left) of a mixed flowers and brooches bouquet my talented mother, owner of the North Dakota wedding decorating company, "I Do"...Balloons, Weddings, and Events, made for one of her brides.  Please remember all images are copyrighted to the artist.  Do not use them without permission!

"Soul Verbs" Series

I go to Southwestern College in Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA studying for a master's degree in art therapy and counseling.  Right now I'm taking a class in Archetypal Psychology, which has been a very inspirational class for me.  We do a regular dream journal and artwork as well as artwork around the mandala books we are reading.  Today we had a discussion about feedback giving when sharing our artwork and how some people really like/need to get feedback or interpretations of their work and how for some it is not helpful.  This got me thinking about my jewelry.  I have always wondered why I make jewelry when I rarely ever wear it, and when I do its usually not my own work.  Thinking about our conversation in class I realized I create jewelry because it is a way for me to connect with others.  I make beautiful and meaningful jewelry because I like to hear what it means to others, even more than deciding on my own interpretation.  Its very heartwarming to me when I create something that another person likes enough to wear on their bodies, especially when it has meaning to both of us.  Its a way for two hearts and souls to align. 

"dig deep"

I've been thinking a lot about branding lately as well, and I see that this idea of meaningful, touching jewelry is what I want Erika with a K Designs to be about.  And coincidentally I created, in response to my mandala book for class, a series of necklaces (an in the future bracelets, earrings, etc) I call "Soul Verbs."  They are made with Swarovski Elements, glass vials filled with Swarovski beads and other things, as well as hand stamped metal tags with inspirational verbs like "Explore", "Love", and "Dig Deep".

"dream"

When I showed these today in class, one of my classmates pointed out that each one has 3 different elements, 3 being a very powerful number meaning synthesis and "2 becoming something greater than the sum of their parts."  I feel this is the perfect explanation of these pieces!

The first one I made was "Explore" (below) in response to my thoughts on mandala making (circular pieces of artwork representing wholeness).  I chose the Earth element because the Earth itself is like a mandala, circular and whole.  I chose the word explore because making a mandala is like exploring the unconscious or the soul.  And then I added the vial filled with beads to represent what one finds when exploring. 


These necklaces are all on sale in my Etsy shop in the Soul Verbs Collection section, and there are more to come.  Also, I encourage custom orders!

"EXPLORE"

"inspire, create"

"LOVE"

The Beauty of Seed Beads

My main passion in this life is beads....well, specifically seed beads.  And through this blog I am finding a number of new passions, things I always new I liked, but never got real excited about until now.  This includes connecting with others, writing, sharing my life, and especially...photography.  I have always believed I had no interest in digital photography, just black and white 35 mm (I took a class in art school and fell in love).  I do still love the latter and am working on a series of black and white prints (a long time in the making yet), but I am realizing just how fun it can be to play with my plain point and shoot digital camera, especially when I am photographing my seed beads! 

I have been working on a big bead embroidered collar using multiple colors of seed beads.  Something I have always had trouble with is finding a place to hold my beads while I'm working...a container that is shallow so they are easy to pick up with a needle and yet also easy to put away when done.  Here is my solution, and a quite beautiful one at that. 

Sneak peak of my work in progress!

 Stay tuned for more beautiful photos and for a post featuring my work in progress collar in the photo!

Bead Work Tip #2

I often have found when edging my bead embroidery, the foundation I choose to use is a totally different color from my backing.  This can pose  a problem when choosing a thread color for the edging.  Take this picture for example...the foundation was a tan/pink color, and because I hate being able to see my edging stitches from the front, I chose pink thread.  But this thread stands out on the dark brown backing I chose.  Sometimes this can be the look you want to achieve, but for other times you can use a Sharpie or other permanent marker to color the thread to match the backing.  Just test it first to make sure the Sharpie won't make it look worse!

Playing with Resin....

A year ago I bought a tube of Ice brand resin and finally took it out last month.  I think I have found a new love!  Resin can be touchy, and if not mixed properly will yield a forever sticky yet hard, impossible to remove substance, but when used properly creates really professional looking work from the beginning.  Just make sure to follow the directions to a T and be prepared to fail sometimes.  The first time I tried, despite the directions, I ended up with a beautiful collage in a large oval bezel that now is collecting dust, hair, and fingerprints.  Make sure when you try this for the first time you use materials that are not expensive or important to you!  Save those for when you know what you are doing....

My second round turned out great!  I made a whole series of hummingbird collage pendants with little flat-backed crystals. Pouring the resin over these crystals created a really neat effect, making them look flat.  Some bubbles and imperfections are unavoidable with this medium (at least I think!), but I feel this adds to the uniqueness of each piece.  Here are the necklaces from my 2nd try:

Click to buy!

Click to Buy!

Click for Listing!

Click to Purchase!

Click for Etsy Listing!

I also made resin papers, but I will leave that for another day and another post!

Beetle wings!

So at Beadfest I found a new material to work with...beetle wings from the Sternocera aequistignata beetle!  I have not had so much fun making earrings in a long time.  I decided to keep it simple, something I can have a hard time with from time to time, because I thought the wings should speak for themselves. I used my new favorite tool, my Euro Punch metal hole puncher, to make the holes, and placement was easy because there is a natural discolored round dot at the top of the wing where it looks like a hole is just supposed to go.  I also used my wire snips to cut off the gross little ridge at the top of the wing just for aesthetic purposes.  Then I stuck a jump ring through the hole and put the jump ring on the ear wire...Voila!...a gorgeous pair of earrings!

The use of these wings in adornment is an ancient practice in Asia, especially Thailand, and is now becoming more and more popular here in the West.  The beetle symbolizes many different things, including rebirth, stability, practicality, and groundedness.  According to the Symbolic Meanings Blog by Avia Venefica, "They move with bellies always close to the earth, and so their wisdom is sacred and deep."

So anyway, my new earrings are available in my Etsy Shop at https://www.etsy.com/shop/ErikawithaKDesigns.  They measure approximately 1 1/2 to 2" in length (including the ear wires).