Saint Petersburg-based glass artist Elena Zaycman creates stunning stained glass sculptures shaped after the natural world. Among her more stunning creations are luminous butterflies and moths, created using the Tiffany technique (a glass assembly technique invented by Louis Comfort Tiffany using opalescent glass).
According to Zaycman, this technique also requires a lot of precision. “I studied math at university, and geometry and technical drawing at school,” she shared with the Etsy blog. “I appreciate the precision and clarity of exact sciences, and I like how they require perseverance and intense concentration.”
Having an understanding of geometry is useful in calculating complex shapes, while being practiced at technical drawing helps her achieve precision in my sketches. “I like them to be accurate, and I don’t eyeball anything, because it affects every other stage of production,” she notes.
Each piece begins with a detailed sketch. But most often than not, before sitting down to sketch a design, Zaycman already has an idea in mind. “While I’m sketching, the idea may stay the same, but it might also transform into something new,” she says. “Often I’ll come up with a completely new collection.”
And while shipments of her glass sculptures have temporarily stopped, until post-service returns to normal, you can still admire her work online, by following her Instagram account.
