Introducing SVETLANA SAMETE Part I

I would like to Introduce Svetlana Samete, an amazingly talented artist based in Latvia. She is also one of the participants in the FOE 13 project. Below is a feature of an interview I conducted with her.

Interviewer: It is a delight to do this feature. What is your name and where are you from?

Svetlana Samete: My name is Svetlana Samete. On the Internet I am more known under the name ORUBISS

Interviewer: How long have you been practicing your art?

Svetlana: I have been doing beads for 5 years

Interviewer: Is this (beading) the only form of art you do or are there more?

Svetlana: I paint, I write poetry, I love to make toys, dolls, felting and do rospiyu on silk

Interviewer: How rewarding has beading been so far?

Svetlana: Prizes;Grand Pri at the show Farben SOUL. Belossusiya, Minsk 2010

Grand Pri at the show SPHERICAL EXCLUSIVE. Ukraine, Kiev 2010

2nd place at the exhibition bead design. Russia, Moskva2011

1st place in the category MIXED of IBA. Germany, Gamburg.2011

Finalist BEAD DREAMS, 2011.

2 preis PAPER OR TEXTILE BEADS of IBA. Germany, Gamburg.2012

2 preis EMBROIDERY of IBA. Germany, Gamburg.2012

(The Artist calls this piece TIGER, and here is her intro to it: Tyger! Tyger! burning bright In the forests of the night, What immortal hand or eye Could frame thy fearful symmetry?  In what distant deeps or skies Burnt the fire of thine eyes? On what wings dare he aspire? What the hand dare seize the Fire?  And what shoulder, and what art, Could twist the sinews of thy heart? And when thy heart began to beat, What dread hand? and what dread feet?  What the hammer? what the chain? In what furnace was thy brain? What the anvil? what dread grasp Dare its deadly terrors clasp?  When the stars threw down their spears, And water'd heaven with their tears, Did he smile his work to see? Did he who made the Lamb make thee?  Tyger! Tyger! burning bright In the forests of the night, What immortal hand or eye, Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?

William Blake)

Interviewer: What is your specialty? (What materials, stitches, techniques etc) do you feel you have mastered so far?

Svetlana: Weaving, embroidery, almost all of which use beads. I am primarily into beading.

Interviewer: When working in this field do you attempt mixed media (using beads and other materials like leather, fabrics or sculptures etc?

Svetlana: I'm trying to work in mixed media. Using beads, stones, leather, even the details of Barbie dolls, bullets from the guns. In short, everything that falls into my hands are used to make jewelry.

(The Artist calls this piece SAKUASOHO and this is her intro to this pieceT: There is a legend of the North American Hopi Indians.

Tayova God has created other gods, and commanded them to create the universe. Topel called first world. In it were dry land and the ocean, and living organisms, and humans created new gods. But living beings do not obey the gods and were destroyed by the Great Flood. The next two world too have been unsuccessful and the same have been destroyed. Our world - the fourth.

One of the most ancient Hopi prophecy speaks of a return to the earth god Sakuasoho Blue Star, which is still far away, and did not see it, but will soon appear in the sky. His appearance will mark a new beginning in the world, the fifth in a row era.

Hopi prophecy states: "God is the Blue Star will appear in heaven, and the world will change again. When Sakuasoho takes off his mask and begins to dance in the market square to the uninitiated - will come the Great Day of Atonement."

In the process of changing the world lost all evil. Unrighteous and the material will be destroyed. For a while, there will be no rituals, no faith. But then the land will be reborn as a reborn and rituals to mark the beginning of a new cycle of life.)

Interviewer: Is there any one person (artists, friends, family etc) that has been a big source of inspiration for you specifically in relation to this field?

Svetlana: I do not think so. I tried not to look in front of the works of other artists, and was looking my way.

Interviewer: Why?

 Svetlana: Memory plays a cruel joke and one can give someone else's drawing for his own invention. I did not go to the master classes, I did not buy the books. Comprehended all by myself and devised ways of working.

Interviewer: What is your ultimate aspiration in this field?

 Svetlana: There is no end. It is a process of creativity, and it is infinite and there is no limit to perfection.

(The Artist' calls this piece BAROQUE and this is her intro to it: Baroque was born at the end of the XVI century in Italy, but it took a little more than half a century, and the elements of this bright, luxurious style swept France, and behind it and most of Europe.

The royal splendor the French court and the main residence of Louis XIV - Versailles, where a single day is not interrupted succession of dazzling festivities turned France into a recognized trendsetter who seek to emulate the nobility throughout Europe.

Indeed, baroque - one of the most magnificent and picturesque historical styles, there is no one "correct" definition and low-key harmony that characterize the works of the Renaissance. But, perhaps more accurately the Baroque style can be described epithets "magnificent and solemn."

In the Baroque ornamentation dominated heavy garlands of flowers and fruits, shells and volutes, acanthus motifs, whimsical bows. The most popular colors of the Baroque style was white in combination with gold, as well as red.

The special decorative different costume of the Baroque. Typical for that time of the picturesque draperies create an intriguing play of light and shadow, peculiar to this style, and demanded a slow, flowing movements, it corresponds to the palace ceremonies.

Fashionable women's dress had a very complex and whimsical silhouette that arose because of the contrast between the very narrow-necked bodice and a wide skirt. Open neck ladies entwined strands of pearls beautiful, very fashionable in the Baroque era. Pearls are also sewn together with ribbons on the dress, they were decorated with hair and waist.)

Interviewer: Have you ever participated in any major projects or contests before?

Svetlana:  of course)))))))

Interviewer: If yes, how would you describe the experience, generally?

Svetlana: Each part is a huge creative drive, new ideas, new projects.

(Please drop by soon, to read the final piece of this interview. You will also get the pleasure of seeing more amazing works from Svetlana as well as find links to her online presence. I hope you enjoyed it thus far, pass the word around.....)

Our Globe Trotter - FOE 13.

Hello and thank you for stopping by. This blog was supposed to chronicle the journey of our project, unfortunately that has not been possible as some of our participants were interrupted with unforeseen issues that slowed communication. We are however picking up our rhythm slowly and we shall begin more active blogging starting September. For now I can tell you that the piece has successfully passed through 2 continents and it is well on it's way to the third. More new to follow soon.

You will also get the chance to learn more about the participants and their art. Do drop by, come September 1st and enjoy the beauty of Art.

FOE 13 - Flying around the world!

But for the colour, this beaded focal could very well pass for a star up in the sky.....or could it be a flower?....Or a star fish?

Choosing/making this as the foundation for our project was intentional. About a dozen talented artists from across the world are coming together to create this piece which we simply call FOE 13 (Freedom Of Expression 2013). We have no pattern to follow, no design to guide us, no blueprint, just our individuality and creativity. Ideas could be from anywhere - sky, earth or sea.

From the daily madness around us, it would appear that intentions and ambitions are being fueled by hatred and misunderstandings. There seem to be great awareness of how different we are in every way conceivable - religion, race, class, beliefs, life choices, demographic location etc. And sadly, the strong attachment to how different we are, and especially to the belief that we/our ways are right and everyone else's is wrong only seems to tear us apart.

The FOE project is a celebration of our differences, but with it is also a healthy dose of respect and acceptance to our differences. It IS OK to be different. It is OK to hold unto your ideals and hopes and passion and such, but in order to rise to greatness, tolerance is necessary; it is important to respect the next person's individuality and difference too, and we intend to show that this is possible by this artistic OOAK piece we are about to create.

Having no idea precisely what the finished piece would look like or even be, we are depending on our individual sense of tolerance of each other's differences and individuality. The item is now on its way to Europe where it will  travel from one country to the next, to be worked on by the various artists participating in this project, then forwarded down under and beyond.....

Each person can only decide what they will add to it after they receive it and see what additional work has been made. Tolerance of the previous artists' contribution is paramount. Acceptance of their contribution will be the guiding force to make us all know how, when and where to add to it and pass it forward. No one's contribution is necessarily better or worse, it is only different. And this difference and individuality is what will come together to create the piece we are projecting.

I have no doubt that the finished item will be a testimony of what tolerance, acceptance and individuality can achieve if/when we are willing to work together. FOE 13 is on its way to an interesting journey, to conjure the imagination, creativity and individuality of Artists from different walks of life, taking with it a little bit of them. Stay with us as we chronicle this journey.....and more so as we feature each artist on this very blog.

FOE 13 begins.

Hello and welcome to our blog! This post launches the first of many artistic projects expressing individuality and the freedom of artistic expression.

We are beginning this project - FOE 13 - with 10 participants from across the globe.The initial idea was to have 12 artists to work within the span of 12 months but we have had two people quitting at the very last minute and since we don't want to delay the project or cancel altogether, we have decided to make minor adjustments to original plans and go ahead and start!

I am so excited!! The artists participating in the FOE 13 are as follows;

Carol Dean Sharpe
Christine Wilson
Eliana Maniero
Jacquie Champion
Megan THomson
Naan Pocen
Olga Dillow
Regina Jiron
Sveltlana Sametis

These are people whose works I greatly admire and respect and I am sure you all will appreciate them too if you know more about what they do. Which is why every participant will be featured individually, so do drop by and read more about their art, where they are based and who they are!

FOE 13 will be the creation of ONE ITEM. We shall begin with a piece of beaded item which will be mailed from one member to the next to add her impression and pass it forward. Each addition is to be decided by each individual, it is not going to follow a specific pattern or design and there is no limit or restriction besided the request that it would involve beads.

We call the project FOE (freedom of expression) specifically because individuality is important and greatly encouraged and we hope that with this project we can show that harmony can be achieved even with individuality.

Do return in a couple days to witness the launch of this project and watch it evolve.

INSPIRATION

I have been thinking a lot lately about how to map out the next step of our project. All  but one contract have been submitted which means I have everyone's location and should be able to assign bits to everyone. The only delay I have considered really is the distance between us and the nature of the project we have at hand. 

I must admit, when I proposed the idea, I didn't thoroughly consider what it would mean to each participant, receiving the work, adding their bit and forwarding it to the next person, I didn't consider that the heavier/bigger the item got, the more it would cost to send it out, and everyone will be allotted the same amount to do their bit.

So while considering how to manage this fairly, I was delighted when Megan (one of our participants) brought my attention to a blog that had successfully carried out a project quite similar to the FOE we are about to carry out. I was super excited to see it, simply because of its beauty and especially because it was not created by only one person but a group of talented people from all over Poland, then put together by the project coordinator.

Seems to me there, our problem is solved!!!

It is delightful to find artists across the globe having a common idea for different projects. This idea was not originally mine. As I had already shared with Megan (who was OK with me sharing this link with the rest of you), I can’t (won't) claim total originality, the idea came to me after I got invited by a group of artists some years back to participate in a collaborative piece, but unlike what we will be doing, what I was invited into was going to be a water colour painting. Unfortunately that project didn't take hold because the originator/sponsor found it too expensive after calculating the cost of mailing from one person to another. Still, the idea of having ONE item created by MANY artist was so inviting that I have harbored the dream of doing something like that, but affordable.

What ‘reminded’ me again to give it a go, was partly the monthly Etsy Bead Weavers' Challenge’s and some talk show I saw on You tube about freedom of expression 2 years ago, so I thought to give it a go. I am excited to see that the idea isn't totally alien after all! This makes me even more excited about ours!

Ours will be worked with beads, so it shall be slightly different from this but it is so encouraging to see that individuality can come together in a common art and speak so loud. I want this to be an encouragement to us for what we are about to embark. And may the freedom of our individual expressions be spoken as loudly.

WELCOME

We are happy to have you visit us.

We believe a little introduction is in order. This page was created specifically to launch the first of many artistic projects expressing individuality and the freedom of artistic expression.The first project will be a collaboration between a dozen artists from various locations around the world. The idea is to create ONE ITEM. One item will be worked on and mailed out to the next person to add their contribution to it, and then pass it forward until within the span of 12 months (one year) the item should be completed by all participating artists. The idea is simple; to allow various artist share their individuality in a common project, which is why we will be working without a script. 

The reason is simple: it is aimed to challenge participants to portray their individuality in a group scenario.The proposed start date for this one is 1st May 2013 and we shall simply call it F.O.E 13. 

We shall launch the project with a blog posting on that very date (May 1st 2013), by introducing all participants. We shall also post a photo of the first item that will be the foundation of this project (The very item we will all add our individuality unto).

In the months to follow we will blog about how it is evolving and what it is saying to us through its metamorphosis.  And in between the blog reports, we shall also have individually assigned posts to all participants; featuring them in an interview about their art in all its aspects. We will also provide links to their websites, blogs and shops, to be sure you don't miss out on all the goodies they are about.

Hopefully, a year from the start date of the project, we will have the grand finale; showcasing the completed work with a synopsis of all the changes it went through. The item will then be auctioned and you shall all be invited. 

All proceeds from this project will go right back into it. This is the first in a series we hope to continue. Therefore part of the proceeds will go towards the very next project* in the series and the rest will go towards the publication of an ebook (about the maiden project), which each participant will be entitled to a free copy of. 

*Future projects may not necessarily be bead related. This is a place for artists from every field. Stay with us through this journey and enjoy the learning experience of individuality coming together in an agreeable way. INDIVIDUALITY IS GREATLY ENCOURAGED HERE.

P.S. Find and join us on FACEBOOK