I grew up in a very artistic family, and I was taught to work with my hands since I was a little child. I always loved creating gifts for my friends and family out of materials I had on hand, and since most of them were female, I started making jewelry as Birthday or Christmas gifts. I soon realized this was what I really enjoy doing and decided to make this my calling.
The story about recycling copper to create jewelry from it started on one lovely Autumn day, while I was taking a walk on one of my favorite spots by one of our amazingly beautiful rivers in my hometown Slunj, Croatia. As I passed by an old ruined water pumping station, that sits on river Slunjčica, I noticed wires sticking out of the walls. As I never pass by something I find on my walks that could be repurposed or used for my arts and crafts, I suddenly got an idea. I saw beautiful wire wrapped jewelry pieces online that really boggled my mind with their intricate designs, and I thought to myself I could take these wires and try to learn this artistic expression.
As I am very connected to Nature and it has always been my greatest inspiration, I started creating Tree of life pendants using crystals as leaves. I was instantly hooked! I loved the way this old copper wire looked as it was darkened and damaged by the elements which gave the jewelry this beautiful antique look, giving a wonderful contrast to the gemstones I wrapped it around. I incorporated this into my creations as an accentuating feature, rather than a defect, since Nature is that way as well, and her creations are all perfect and beautiful as they are with all their little imperfections.
Since that day Mother Nature has gifted me with copper wire so many times on my walks, as if supporting my endeavor and telling me to continue creating and representing her beauty through my art pieces. And here I am 11 years later, still playing with copper wire and copper pipes, breaking them down and constructing them into trees, flowers, mushrooms, animals, spiders, snakes and other beings. These intricate designs are all done in cooperation and with support of my faithful customers that have recognized my love for this expression.
I spend most of my day weaving and hammering and sawing and burning and grinding copper, incorporating gemstones, these beautiful natural jewels, into my designs, to create organic nature inspired wearable art in the form of jewelry. Spending sometimes up to 50 hours to create a piece, nothing gives me more pleasure than seeing the result of my work, and afterwards taking them for a walk in the forest and by the river to photograph them in the very place where they were inspired.
I hope you like them too and that the vision of them brings you joy and pleasure as it does to me :)
I create my art under the name Forest Creations, and you can find my work on Facebook and Instagram, or on my website.
More info: forest-creations.com
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