Finding My Style: From Beaded Jewelry to Wearable Nature Art

When I started beading in 2013, I was simply exploring and learning on my own.

I began with cuff bracelets, then moved on to pendants and necklaces. At that time, I worked mostly with natural stones, experimenting with shapes, colors, and different ways of combining beads.

As I discovered more materials, my designs began to change. I started incorporating crystals, sequins, different types of wire, and other interesting elements. Each new material opened up another possibility.

In 2016, I created my first animal-inspired piece. A couple of years later, in 2018, I made my first dragonfly.

I was still making mostly necklaces, but something was beginning to change.

A Turning Point

In 2021, I taught my first Zoom class and created a Turtle as the project.

For my second Zoom class, I designed an Owl.

These projects were different from the jewelry I had been making before. I was no longer simply creating something to wear around the neck. I was creating recognizable forms—animals and creatures—with their own shapes, personalities, textures, and details.

 And I loved it.

After that, more and more of my designs became inspired by animals, insects, birds, flowers, and other elements of the natural world. Somewhere along the way, I realized that I had found something that felt very natural to me.

I had found my style.

From Jewelry to Wearable Art

Today, I think of my work differently than I did when I first started beading.

I still love jewelry. I still love beautiful beads, sparkling crystals, and discovering a new material that makes me think, what can I do with this? 

But now I am especially drawn to transforming the natural world into small, dimensional works of wearable art.

A bird.
A butterfly.
A dragonfly.
A hummingbird.
A bee.

I enjoy studying the details that make each creature recognizable and then finding ways to recreate those details with beads, wire, sequins, crystals, and other materials.
Sometimes the result is realistic. Sometimes it becomes more jewel-like or whimsical.

But the inspiration almost always comes from nature. 

Looking back, I don't think I planned this journey. I simply kept learning, experimenting, trying new materials, and following the designs that excited me. And eventually, those experiments led me here.

To wearable nature art.

— Iryna Shlapakova