World Artisan Gems

Name: Zoya Gutina

Mermaid's Garden

Where are you located? Alexandria, Virginia, US

Website Link: http://mylovelybeads.com  

Tell us a bit about yourself?

I’m a handcrafted gemstone and beaded jewelry designer, married, have two beautiful daughters – Ivanna and Irina, and one adorable granddaughter – Paulina (she is just one month!)

When did you start designing jewelry/art?

I grew up in the USSR in the family loving all kind of crafts, and at the early
age I learned sewing, knitting, crocheting, lace making, macrame. When I was 10, I was studying ballet, and needed a dress for practicing. A dress was sewn for me, but I decided to decorate it, and sewed a gentle beadwork flower onto my chest. The beads were a transparent yellow color, very pale, and the dress was of a cream-colored material. At that time I felt is was an appropriate combination, and I was right, the dress looked very pretty. Then for a long time I’ve done a lot of craftwork: sewing, knitting, crocheting, to count just a few, but beading. I returned to beadwork about 7 years ago, when I already lived in New York City. Once a friend of mine from Russia showed me some samples of her beaded jewelry and presented three pieces to me. I was so impressed, that I decided to try beading again after my first attempts when I was a young girl.

Did you learn beading somewhere? How have you developed your skills?

Midnight Flowers

What do you make?

I define the jewelry I make as gemstone and beaded jewelry. My items are jewelry sets, necklaces, earrings, bracelets, brooches, rings made using combination of beads and gems. In one word, one-of-a-kind wearable-art jewelry.

What materials and methods do you use?

I have tried a lot of beading techniques, but my favorite is beadveawing. I think, my signature is pretty complicated necklaces consisting of tens different elements. I make my jewelry using high quality Italian, Japanese, and Czech beads. Others are created from Swarovski crystal, pearl, mother of pearl, amber, and a rainbow of semi-precious stones.

Poppy field

Where do your design inspirations come from?

Once a friend of mine, Valerie Tournie, a crystal and seed bead jewelry designer from France, called me “Inspired by Nature”. And that’s true! I look for my jewelry themes and find them in nature most of the times. Inspirations for my designs come to me night and day. At night, when I close my eyes, fantastic colors and forms of my future efforts appear before me. Often, I cannot even find beads of those colors. During the day, images appear when I see flowering trees outside, or just flowers in the spring; during the winter, geometric frozen shapes; and then, both during sunrise and sunset.

What is your best working environment/where is your studio:

This spring I won 2008 Annual Jury for Torpedo Factory Artist and became a member of this well known in Washington Metropolitan Area (and not only) Artist Association. Since June I have shared Studio 5 at the Torpedo Factory Art Center in Alexandria, Virginia (http://www.torpedofactory.org/artists/gutina_z.htm), I can work there and sell my jewelry. And, of course, I continue working at home.

Where can your products be seen and bought?

In 2003 I was invited to participate in selling my handicrafts at an art market in Manhattan and in some local gift shops in Brooklyn. It gave me a good feeling of encouragement, that my artifacts are desired and appreciated. Since 2006 I have been living in Alexandria, VA, a city rich in history, art, and culture. I exhibit and sell my fine objects in the Potomac Craftsmen Gallery at the Torpedo Factory Art Center (http://www.potomaccraftsmengallery.com/artist_guti.html)  and in Studio 5 in the TFAC, you can find my gemstone and beaded jewelry in some art and jewelry stores in Washington Metropolitan Area. In January 2007 to extend my selling efforts I started my own small business – online custom gemstone and beaded jewelry store http://www.mylovelybeads.com.

You can also see my portfolio on TalentDatabase, Indiepublic, BeadersShowcase, JewelryArtists, BeadArtists, HandsOnheaven, and WindowOnWeb and on some other sites. Acknowledgements on my beadwork from other artists can be found here: http://thedb.com/zoya.

Spring Romance

Do you participate in any jewelry design contests?

Last year I decided to participate in beading contests and my first try was successful: My Aquamarine Morning and Amethyst Night Necklace won First Place in Glass Category of the Rings & Things “Your Designs Rock!” 2007 Jewelry Design Contest. Two more my creations were finalists of the Fire Mountain Gems and Beads 2006-2007 Beading Contest: Fall Rhapsody Set in the Jewelry Set Category and Butterfly Necklace in the Wearable Art Category. This year is lucky for me: I again won First Place and Honorable Mention in the Rings & Things “Your Designs Rock!” 2008 Contest, made the final in the Wearable Expressions 2008, Bead Dreams 2008, and Fire Mountain Gems and Beads Contest. And the year is not over yet!

Magazine articles or press:

My jewelry items were twice featured in Rings & Things Supplements, in Fire Mountain Gems and Beads Jewelry Maker’s Comprehensive Catalogs, in Beadwork Magazine, in Jewelry Weblog, in Torpedo Factory Art Center newsletters, in jewelry and fashion blogs, so, that list is not full yet.

Who are you a fan of?

Gosh, there are so many… Gwen Fisher, Carol Holmes, and Erin Simonetti from the US, Kerrie Slade from UK, Valerie Tournie from France… Actually, the list of my favorite bead artists is much longer!

Tell me a little about one of your favorite creations:

I believe, that actually my bead art began with the Autumn Splendor necklace. I made that necklace last late fall, when Joan Jensen from TazWood Creations (http://tazwoodcreations.com) suggested me to try her cherry burl wood cabochons in my designs. A burl is a rounded outgrowth on a tree trunk or branch. Burls yield a very peculiar and highly figured wood. Because the number of trees that produce burl wood is quite low, the wood is scarce. These hand turned by Joan Jensen cherry burl wood cabochons have subtle inlays of turquoise in the burl’s natural void, and I was so amazed by them, that immediately started designing my “autumny” necklace. Joan’s and mine collaboration made success! Beautiful TazWood cabochons and Autumn Splendor were shown together in the April-May issue of Beadwork magazine. The necklace was a finalist in the Wearable Expressions 2008 international contest and was being exhibited by Wearable Expressions in California.

Autumn Splendor

Anything else you wish to add here:

I perfectly understand that I need to learn more, and more, and more to create jewelry that can satisfy any choosy and picky customer, but I am an optimist and ready to work as much as it needs! And one more thing I’d like to add: I’m grateful very much to all my friends from my beaders’ communities, who always advise me and support me in my efforts to make my jewelry better.

Ms. Gutina thank you for the lovely interview ~ your beadwork is fantastic and we hope you will keep creating these artistic masterpieces!