Unique and beautiful paper art by Anatoly Vorobyev

Paper is a unique material. It’s fragile, delicate on one hand and flexible, versatile on the other hand. Art pieces made of paper look timeless and amazingly beautiful. I’ve recently came across a unique artist Anatoly Vorobyev who works with paper and creates one of a kind paper cut silhouettes, shadow boxes and art paper cutouts. His art work is so beautiful and exclusive that I couldn’t resist posting an interview with Anatoly on my blog.



Q: How have you started your paper cutout adventure?

I first developed an interest in making origami and modular paper sculptures in 2009. Later I’ve switched to paper cutouts. It’s an ancient technique that has been known for centuries. Over time many nations have developed their own unique styles and approaches to working with paper. I’ve got so fascinated by the possibilities provided by a simple sheet of paper. We often associate paper with books and publishing and rarely think about it as an art object.



Q: What amazes you in the process of cutting paper?

I love to combine traditional styles and techniques creating something completely new and unique. It’s such a joy to see how step by step a plain and pure piece of paper is turning into an art object. I like to experiment, mix and try something new. Every step of the process is aesthetically very rewarding be it drawing a silhouette or cutting a piece of paper.



Q: What are sources of inspiration?

I spend a lot of time outside and nature is my major source of inspiration. Plants, birds, animals make me thing about my future designs. Folk ornaments, vintage lace, mythological creatures and characters of favorite books, music, movies are great sources of inspiration as well.

When I see an interesting ornament or a unique pattern I start thinking about paper and how this object could be turned into a paper cutout or a shadow box.

Anatoly, thank you for sharing!

Deep greens of the summer

With spring bloom almost over we are moving towards a more subtle green summer season. However, greens are not boring! The deep green color of leaves, grass and trees comes in a lot of different hues.

We still can find fresh and young leaves that have this optimistic color of lime. They are tender and fragile and it will take them some time to turn into deep green mid summer leaves.

Don't get upset that all the spring flowers are gone. Take your camera and go for a picture hunt in the green of the summer! I promise you will find lots of cool green objects worth to be displayed on your living room's wall.

Bright green spring pendant

I recently went shopping for new art supplies and came across those beautiful large clear glass beads. They are of that beautiful spring green color that radiates positive energy and makes one feel happy. The nature is still recovering from winter and our early March color palette is mostly grey and dull yet. A vivid green clear glass bead immediately attracted my attention!
I thought the bead will look great on a simple mercerized cotton thread of a neutral light beige color. I crocheted the thread and turned the whole thing into a pendant. The pendant looks simple yet elegant and will go well with pretty much anything. The beautiful green color will remind us all that spring is around the corner!

Yellow wool hand felted acorns

Yellow is such a happy and positive color. I plan on creating more items in yellow as spring and summer are approaching. Pale and dull shades of winter dive way to vivid and bright colors and hues of warm sunny days! Let's celebrate spring and summer with lemon yellows!

Spring Green Earrings simple and beautiful

Green is the color of spring. It's very happy, positive and beautiful. I started creating items in green to get ready for the upcoming season. Felted earrings are light, durable and stylish. They look quite different from many other standard jewelry items and are natural and eco-friendly.

Felted Berry Brooch in Chocolate Blue

I keep experimenting with colors and shapes. My new version of a felted berry brooch comes in chocolate and blue. It's a very vivid and beautiful combination of colors that goes well with pretty much any outdoor and indoor outfits and attires. Unique shapes of my berry brooches make them standout. I get a lot of feedback from clients about how they get noticed everywhere they go wearing my brooch. It's so rewarding to know that!
The colors of the brooch make me think about chocolate and cotton candy ice cream that is pretty good by the way! The combination of tilted blue and dark brown is very rewarding and stylish.

Felt wool white frosted berry brooch

It's Christmas season and we will eventually get some snow here in Virginia. Coming from Russia I personally love snow. There are so many things one can actually do in winter. And don't forget about beautiful winter forests! Trees are covered with snow, one can see frosted berries here and there, animal traces. It always feels like a fairy tale in a winter forest.
White felted beads are plush, durable and beautiful. They are easy to work with and there is this natural feel about them. Felted beads are made from wool using eco-friendly techniques and, thus, are ideal for eco-conscious and nature-loving individuals.

Flowers in lilac and purple

Flowers are beautiful. They are so fragile and exquisite! Every flower is different and there is no way one can find two similar ones! They come in different colors and shapes. It's amazing how creative nature can be! My favorite Fall flower colors this season are lilac, purple and yellow.
Fall colors tend to be warm.
They remind us of the last sunny days before winter strikes. This feast of colors is our last chance to picture all these yellow, purple, red shades and hues before we enter a monochrome world of winter.
Don't forget about animals, insects and birds of the sunny Summer and Fall days! Some of them are as vivid as any flower or brightly colored Fall leaf. Some damselflies, dragonflies and butterflies remind us of flowers and some look more like exotic aliens from different planets but they all add beauty to our everyday life.

Holiday house decoration ideas

Holidays are approaching and we all are about to start decorating our houses. There are millions of ways to do it and tones of ideas how to make our homes cozy and beautiful. Here is one of the house decoration ideas for you to consider.

I've been felting for a while now. Let me tell you that it's quite easy to create felted wool balls. It's a matter of rolling felting wool between your palms occasionally wetting it and adding some soap. When squeezed these felted balls take shapes of ovals and fit perfectly into acorn heads. The result looks super cute. These felted wool acorns will last forever unlike real acorns! They could be of different colors and sizes. One can hang it on a Christmas tree, next to a computer, on a book shelf or just put them next to his or her bed.
A good idea is to decorate a holiday table with bowls of felted wool acorns as a tribute to all natural and eco-friendly. For a romantic dinner one can always hang acorns on a beautiful tree branch in a vase, lit a few candles and voila you've got a perfect date!

There are so many ways how wool felted acorns could decorate your house! Just use your imagination and you will add uniqueness and style to your sweet home!

My First Fall GIVEAWAY results

Thank you for participating in my Red Berry handmade earrings Giveaway. Believe it or not but the number generated by Random Generator was 66!

Let us congratulate Lee who won Red Berry handmade earrings today!!! Congratulations Lee!!!

Gone hiking east treasury

It's getting warm and sunny with summer practically around the corner. Let's pack our backpacks and go hiking! Be it Appalachian mountains, Rocky mountains or forests of Washington state it's great to get out and spend a good few days walking, climbing and jumping.



I featured the following talented fellow Etsians in my Gone Hiking treasury east: bellsandunicorns, jezek, theangryrobot, tonyautkina, papercutworks, yuliaart, Beesnetta, YuliaKazansky, HappyfrogfromAlaska, FunEmbroidery, IrinaPhotography, socksandmittens, stevester, wildernest, FlowersbyIrene, peacemagnetgirl