CULTURE

NOVEMBER 19 - 25, 2021 CULTURE

11 Unique Polymer Clay Accessories by io Art Studio - Handmade Accessories & Jewelry

BY ANA DUMBADZE

At times, our lifetime aspirations and dreams come true and become part of our daily activities. And what could be more pleasurable than doing what we love most? This is exactly what happened for Nina Tsikaridze, the founder of io Art Studio, a talented artist who produces unique and amazingly beautiful handmade polymer clay accessories.

Nina dreamt of producing handmade accessories and jewelry for years, but for various reasons was only able to make her dream come true a year ago. Today, she has a small, cozy, home-based workshop, where she creates exotic accessories distinguished by bright colors and creative shapes for both local and foreign customers.

She uses polymer clay in her works, and, along with accessories and jewelry, can also make decorative tableware to order. The choice is diverse, as is the material itself, as polymer clay fl exibly allows the artist to create items that meet the tastes and needs of each customer.

Nina’s favorite works are her jewelry pieces, which are not only aesthetic, but functional too.

The founder of io Art Studio had always felt a strong inclination towards such work, and in September 2020, she fi nally decided to turn her aspiration into a real job and started producing items to sell, with help from her youngest daughter.

She already knew about the online platform Etsy.com, where only handmade accessories are sold, and within around two months, she had managed to improve her skills and create a collection she felt was worth putting on the market. When that collection was ready, she boldly placed it on Etsy, making it available to customers abroad this spring. Since then, she has created several collections, all of which merited very positive feedback and admiration among customers. Such a response motivated Nina to do more and continue her activities with even greater enthusiasm. In parallel, in addition to the foreign market, her accessories and other items are also sold on the Georgian market.

The brand’s original name, io Art Studio, comes from the name of her daughter – Ioana, whose “help” in the process of production means a lot to her mother. In fact, the tiny workshop has only two employees right now– Nina and her daughter Ioana. In the future, Ioana might also become an artist and continue her mother’s activities.

The process of producing handmade items using polymer clay is a very long and hard one, but Nina says her love of the work and the amazing results bring her unconditional pleasure.

Apart from creating items and collections according to her inspiration, the artist also works on private orders to bring bright colors and beauty into daily lives of her customers. Those interested in browsing and/or purchasing her works can visit the social media page of io Art Studio - www.facebook.com/io.Art.Studio, and/or shop online at the platform etsy.com.

BI Auction Launches Third Competition for Young Artists

BY KATIE RUTH DAVIES

BI Auction, sponsored by IArt and We’Ar Art, has launched its third annual Competition for Young Artists. Young painters from around Georgia are invited to submit photos of their works by November 25.

GEORGIA TODAY spoke to BI Auction founder Bengü Akçardak Küçük to fi nd out more.

“The idea came to mind during our 2nd BI Auction preparations in 2016,” she tells us. “We had just a few young artists’ works in our fi rst auction, which were successfully presented and auctioned. After this experience, these artists mentioned this success in their CVs, noting it as an important achievement in their careers as professional artists. But it took time to make a good and effective start, and only in 2019 were we able to announce the 1st BI Auction Competition. It had a big impact, and we reached many more young artists.

“We really feel the happiness of doing ‘good’ for others, especially for younger generations. I was young, you were (are) young. We all know how wonderful it is to be young, but it brings many questions, many uncertainties for the future. If something/someone opens a safe, reliable door, this is a good sign for a bright future to trust in. My aim is to create not only a real experience, but also to motivate young artists to create artworks for a better world and future.”

WHAT IS THE THEME OF THIS YEAR'S COMPETITION AND WHY?

We don’t want to limit artists with specifi c themes, we want to feel their art and artistic visions, so we leave the theme up to them.

WHO TYPICALLY ENTERS THESE COMPETITIONS?

We call on all who believe in their artworks, who create original works. We do need a limit, though, so we restrict the age (up to 30 years).

WHO CHOOSES THE WINNERS?

This is a competition of BI Auction and we want to offer a good experience to motivate young artists. Our BI Auction family chooses the winners considering artistic values and art market dynamics.

WILL THERE BE AN EXHIBITION OF THE ENTRIES?

Yes, of course. After every competition, we organize a ceremony to announce the winners of the competition, and, depending on conditions, we organize an exhibition and auction only for ‘Young Artists.’ It would be great to have the support of more companies to sponsor our yearly artists’ competition to build a better future for Georgian art.

PUBLISHER & GM George Sharashidze

COMMERCIAL DEPARTMENT Commercial Director: Iva Merabishvili Marketing Manager: Natalia Chikvaidze Journalists: Ana Dumbadze, Vazha Tavberidze, Tony Hanmer, Emil Avdaliani, Nugzar B. Ruhadze, Michael Godwin, Ketevan Skhirtladze Website Manager/Editor: Katie Ruth Davies

Layout: Misha Mchedlishvili Webmaster: Sergey Gevenov Circulation Managers: David Kerdikashvili, David Djandjgava

ADDRESS 1 Melikishvili Str. Tbilisi, 0179, Georgia Tel.: +995 32 229 59 19 E: info@georgiatoday.ge F: GeorgiaToday Reproducing material, photos and advertisements without prior editorial permission is strictly forbidden. The author is responsible for all material. Rights of authors are preserved. The newspaper is registered in Mtatsminda district court.