Art Kaleidoscope

Fireflies. Beautiful young women with golden hair in luxurious emerald dresses surrounded by white flowers of the night garden, admiring the glowing fireflies. Canvas, oil 70 cm x 100 cm. Larisa Ilchenko Oil Paintings

Larisa Ilchenko Oil Paintings
Born in Krasnodar, Larisa Ilchenko is a Member of the Union of Artists of Russia and the Eurasian Union of Artists. In 1981, she graduated from the Krasnodar Art School with honors.

Most of her work is oil paintings on canvas, watercolor and tempera. The range of genres is also wide: multi-figure easel compositions, still lifes, landscapes, and portraits. The portraits transfer the character of the people depicted and their unique eyes – full of their thoughts and feelings. The artist reflects not only the appearance, but their soul, which is the most integral feature of her portraits.

Larisa has held nine solo exhibitions and is a regular participant and prize-winner of national and international art exhibitions. Among them, in particular, Gallery Alex (Spain), Saatchi-gallery (England – London), Art – 3000 (France), etc.

The artist’s works adorn museums, galleries, private collections in Russia, Germany, Sweden, Finland, Greece, the USA and other countries. Her biography is published in the encyclopedia “Who is Who Verlag fur Personenenzyklopadien AG” of the international Swiss publishing house.

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‘Aurora’ embroidery based on the paintings of Giuseppe Arcimboldo. 2023. Tatyana Eremina 3D embroidery art

Tatyana Eremina 3D embroidery art
St. Petersburg based self-taught artist of applied art Tatyana Eremina (panilivinski) has been doing volumetric embroidery for over 30 years. Noteworthy, her stunning works blur the line between handicrafts and genuine art. A design engineer by education, she has dedicated 12 years of her life to this profession. According to the artist, she “catches herself thinking that this often helps in her creativity”.

Tatyana Eremina is a regular participant in applied art exhibitions, traditionally held in the palaces of St. Petersburg. In addition to participating in national exhibitions, Eremina also took part in foreign exhibitions, the most significant of which was in Italy. The winner of several international competitions, Eremina enjoys teaching embroidery.

As they say, talented people are talented in everything, and everything that her hand touches causes delight and admiration. In addition to embroidery, Tatyana is engaged in other types of handicrafts – jewelry, felting, stained glass, knitting, decoupage, design, dolls and toys, sewing, restoration, applique and spinning.

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Wolf pendant. Oil paints, magnesite. 6 cm. Maria Ratnikova Lacquer Miniature Jewelry

Maria Ratnikova Lacquer Miniature Jewelry

Based in Kostroma, Maria Ratnikova is a versatile artist who creates beauty by working in various fields of applied art. In her gallery, along with collectible dolls, silk flowers and watercolors, a special place is occupied by jewelry painting on natural stones, lacquer miniatures and accessories (felt art).

Other types of her creativity include silk painting (batik), decoration, working with leather and fur, floristry, graphics, sculpture and inlay. According to the artist herself, each material in turn becomes her favorite, and then she makes a collection-series of works.

Since 2017, Maria has been a regular participant in jewelry art exhibitions in her native Kostroma.

Noteworthy, multimedia artist Maria Ratnikova is also an art therapist and a practical psychologist
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Aunt Summer textile interior doll. Height 35 cm. Art textiles, tulle, jute, beads. Russian doll artist Tatiana Belozyorova

Russian doll artist Tatiana Belozyorova
A native of the northern region, Belgorod based self-taught artist Tatiana Belozyorova (BizWoo) creates unique interior toys and fairy-tale creatures that cannot leave anyone indifferent. The talented craftswoman began participating in applied art exhibitions in 2010, receiving public recognition and many awards.

According to Tatiana, she was interested in drawing since childhood and, as an adult, worked for a short time as a decorative artist at a local club. While on maternity leave to care for her child (today she already has five children), she became interested in creating dolls. It takes her from 2 days to several months to create a doll, depending on her inspiration and mood.
Meanwhile, Tatyana has mastered various applied art techniques, such as felting, sewing, embroidery, making paper mache, sculpting, and more. Also, Tatiana is a talented photographer.
Sold through well-known online platforms around the world, her unique fairy-tale creatures are in high demand.
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Gold beetle engraving on a coin using nickel, gold. Engraver Roman Butin

Legendary Engraver Roman Butin
Nothing is impossible for the Russian engraver Roman Butin, thanks to his wild imagination and talent. Admirers of his art call this Golden Beetle a masterpiece, as well as many other works of the master from Yekaterinburg.
Inspired by Edgar Allen Poe’s near-forgotten fairy tale of the same name, the gold beetle features an intricately carved dollar that hides a secret. The button activates the beetle’s wings, revealing gold. Noteworthy, at an auction in December 2017, this beetle was sold for $9,200. However, this is not the highest price at which he sold his products.
Roman’s “Gold Beetle” and its hidden secrets is a reference to Poe’s short story including cryptography; hidden elements that readers must decipher in order to understand the story.
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Vegetables and flowers on the plate help build the scene. Mikyou Fish Food Art

Mikyou Fish Food Art
Japanese food artist has proven that food is Art. Mikyou creates true masterpieces from freshly caught raw fish. Due to the fact that Mikyou lives in the port city of Matsuyama, he does not lack fresh fish. According to the artist, he discovered his talent as a culinary artist while teaching his son how to make sushi.
Noteworthy, Mikyou is neither a professional artist nor a culinary specialist. However, the fame of his masterpieces spread throughout the world.
His most popular works depict Disney characters, from Ariel to Rapunzel. The reason Mikyou portrays women more often is in the fact that small pieces of fish are conveniently arranged in the form of long hair or dresses. Also, his collection includes mythical creatures, such as majestic dragons and unicorns.
It is hard to imagine how one can destroy such masterpieces with a fork. However, the genius’s family got used to his creations, and they just quietly eat them.
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Brooch with charms, 1820s, Victoria and Albert Museum. Cast Iron Jewelry Art

Cast Iron Jewelry Art
The history of cast iron jewelry began in 1790, when craftsmen in Silesia along with vases and candlesticks, made individual jewelry items. Also, at the beginning of the 19th century, Berlin metalsmiths made cast iron jewelry at the Royal Iron Foundry.
Despite the very fine workmanship and ornate patterns, black jewelry looked rather gloomy and did not have enough secular gloss. Therefore, women mainly used such ornaments at mourning events. Thus, the term mourning jewelry has become synonymous with cast iron jewelry.

However, in 1812, the attitude towards cast-iron jewelry changed somewhat – it became not only terribly fashionable, but super-patriotic to appear in them at social events.

First of all, this popularity arose due to the Prussian princess Marianne. The fact is that in March 1813, Prussia joined the Russian Empire in the fight against Napoleon. War, as you know, is a very costly business. In order to stimulate financial revenues to the treasury, Marianne of Prussia appealed to her compatriots with an appeal. In particular, to donate their gold jewelry for a noble goal – financing the War of Independence.
In return, the benefactors received sincere gratitude from the country and a cast-iron decoration with the inscription “I gave gold for iron” or “For the well-being of our Motherland.”

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