Maria Babetskaya Handmade Jewelry: Pure Beauty of Summer Touch

Maria Babetskaya

Maria Babetskaya is a handmade jewelry designer who was born in Russia, lived in Prague, Czech Republic for a while and after she moved back to Saint Petersburg, Russia. Now she lives in Siberia – a very eastern part of Russia.

Maria graduated from the university having Public Relations degree and continued studying there to get Master of Arts of Conflictology and Psychology. Maria is planning to work in this area in future. She’d love to live with her son somewhere at Northland, where there are high coniferous trees, mountains, rivers, lakes, fields of soft grass, colorful flowers and dazzling pure air…

She likes reading, traveling, when she has spare time, writing poems and articles, swimming, playing baseball, hiking or just being outside of town. But most of all she likes to create handicrafts. It was a great pleasure for us to take an interview with Maria Babetskaya and we wish you a pleasant reading and viewing of Maria Babetskaya handmade jewelry.

AP: Maria, welcome to AstrumPeople. Thank you for coming out! We are very happy to see you here and hope you will enjoy answering our questions. Could you please tell me what got you started?

Maria: I can say, that I’m a creative person and I’ve always liked art in all its kinds: from literature to theater. And no wonder, I always adored jewelry since I was a kid and still have some beautiful long earrings we used to bring with my mother from Italy and the United Kingdom. Especially sparkling ones! A few years ago I saw jewelry, which was made by one girl. I got interested about how she managed to do that and searched on the Internet for more information about this type of art. I found out that polymer clay gives almost endless ways of applying and varieties of things to make. That’s how I started to work with this material. Then I started using epoxy resin. This idea has absolutely hypnotized me and I feel like the time is frozen when I work on something…

AP: What a great start! Maria, do you have any formal education in design or were you self-taught?

Maria: I finished an art school and basics of design technology during studying in Prague. So if talking about what I’m doing now, I am complete self-taught. I guess, it’s just something I like doing and finding new ways and knowledge.

AP: That’s wonderful that you learned most of design techniques on your own. That is a great achievement I think. Did you try yourself in any other genres of art? What genre is your handcrafted jewelry?

Maria: I tried myself in many genres of art: played in the theater, wrote poems, articles, short novels, worked with various sorts of paint and pastel, designed logos, made miniature furniture and illustrated books for small children. And really love each of them.

I doubt that jewelry I make now could be classified to some specific genre. Miniature copies of real items: food, newspapers, coffee, butterflies and flowers, etc. I try to make them from polymer clay. Since childhood I also remember massive amber jewelry with beetles inside, which was really popular at that time. For the last half a year I’m pretty influenced by the seaside, so there are many works with natural materials: shells, sand, stones, moss. Not forgetting about flowers and glass. And I do like experiments; it’s always something new and inspiring.

There’s a special mood in every work, depending on the way I feel while making it, on the atmosphere around and thought inside. Different emotions. Views. You can find your reflection in any work. There is something for everyone.

AP: Yeah, I think Mother Nature has always been inspiring. How would you describe your handiworks?

Maria: I think they are unique and individual; these are good words to describe them. Every work is special and I don’t make replicas of them. Jewelry with flowers or shells can be described as ‘timeless’ and ‘crystal’, made of time pieces of summer, light, water and life. They are fresh, emotional, encouraging, moody and bright.

AP: Yes, that’s true. Your works handicrafts are very beautiful. What kind of equipment and techniques do you use to create your handmade jewelry items?

Maria: There’s no need in any special equipment when I work with crystal resin. I just need gloves to keep my hands clean. And the most useful gadgets for me when working with polymer clay are pasta-machine and extruder, which help to achieve exciting effects and make working process easier. And of course I use all sorts of paint and other materials that could be useful too.

AP: Maria, thank you for sharing such useful details about the equipment you use. I am sure it will be useful for your readers. Are there any artists you use for references?

Maria: I really like and admire Kathleen Dustin’s works: outstandingly technical and just fitting my emotional and inner thoughts.

AP: Do you have any dream project? What is it?

Maria: I have a great number of ideas on my mind (sometimes they come up even while I dream), but I don’t have so much time to fulfill them all at once. I guess, there’s always not enough time for everything, the Universe is too immense:) But I’d like to run a nice cozy shop, where people would have an opportunity to see and touch my art works, so that’s a dream-goal.

AP: We wish your dream to definitely come true! What is the formula for success in your activity? Do you take in exhibitions or contests?

Maria: It depends on what “success” means for each of us… I don’t have any particular goals in the design area, ’cause it’s more like a hobby for me and it helps me to get some emotional rest (it is important in our nowadays busy life), and brings some profit too.

I took part in several exhibitions and festivals and there are already some planned ones for this fore-coming fall. It was a really useful and joyful experience. There were a lot of creative people who created unusual things from all possible materials: wood and birch bark, polymer clay, metal, natural stones, skin, wool and cotton, threads and beads, etc. And of course there were many visitors who wanted to see new designs, meet new artist, chat and purchase some nice items. I’d like to organize myself this kind of exhibition in future.

AP: Is there someone who supports you in your creativity?

Maria: My husband helps me in my work much by sharing ideas and giving useful piece of advice from time to time or even meeting with potential clients, who wish to buy something from my jewelry collections. My son does also support me, but mostly by making me smile or bringing something I ask.:) I put a part of my soul in everything I create.

AP: Tell us three lessons you believe are really important for every jewelry artist?

Maria: Be yourself. Do what you like and what make you really happy.

There are no rules or limits for your fantasy and ideas, they are everywhere and anything you think is worse making – is really so. Don’t be afraid to create something unusual or a thing you haven’t tried ever, don’t bother what other people might think. It’s your own personal way to express your soul and cognize the world beyond. It’s the essential part of any art. And do try to improve your skills every time. “The sky is the limit, so there are no limits.”

Maria, thank you very much for sharing such amazing story about your handicrafts. We wish you great achievements, continued inspiration and bright success. To learn more about Maria Babetskaya handmade jewelry please visit her ‘Morag Handmade Crafts’ page.