Leningrad Porcelain Factory (LFZ) - Summer Garden Collection

This article was written by Lyudmila from woolsolution. I was many time in Sain-Peterburg but never in this factory, but I heard a lot about it.

The Summer Garden in St. Petersburg is home to allegorical marble sculptures acquired from Venetian sculptors Francesco Penso, Pietro Baratta, Marino Gropelli, Alvise Tagliapietra, Bartolomeo Modulo and others for Russia's new capital in mid 1700s.
summer_garden_pic.
In late 1970s a group of artist of Lomonosov's factory started creating porcelain renditions of the statues from  the Summer Garden. It took almost 2 decades to complete the project. All figurines were made out of white unglazed porcelain and have a great decorative look. Unglazed porcelain also is called biscuit ware. LFZ is the first in the country to have worked out technology and set up production of the collectable and decorative items made out of Bisque porcelain.
The first figurines were cast in 1976 by one of the prominent masters of a porcelain plastic style of the Leningrad Porcelain Factory Elvira Eropkina*. This pair represents The Allegory of the Day and Night. The Day Figurine holds a mirror where the profile of the Night is reflected. Exactly like on a clear sky we see at day time sometimes the reflection of the moon. They are not copies but interpretations of the original statues.

The figurines "Mercy" and "Justice" were created in 1999 by artist Olga Belova-Veber**. "Justice" is carrying a double-edged executioner’s sword and "Mercy" holds the book as a symbol of the Wisdom and Law. All figurines have notable whiteness and thinness

*Sculptor: Elvira Eropkina (Born in 1944, Khabarovsk, Russia - Died in 2004, Jerusalem, Israel)

**Olga Belova-Veber, was born in Leningrad in 1961 and has been working at Imperial Porcelain Factory since 1997

Featured artist - Interview with RuMosaic07

Today I continue to present handmade artists. I would like to introduce a talented fellow artist whose work I admire!



Could you please tell me a little bit about
yourself?
My name is Natasha Skobeleva. I was born and raised in Ekaterinburg in a family of true artisans. A few years ago our family moved to Omsk a large city in Siberia. My grand father had a well-established business that was featured at the famous Paris exhibition in early XX century. He lost everything during the revolution in Russia but his artisan skills. Our family still has a children’s tea pot that is 3 cm. tall. My grand father hand made it out of an American tin from canned food during the WW II for his grandchildren. My mom and my granny sewed for the whole family during the Soviet era when it was hard to buy clothes. It’s not a surprise that I knitted my first item when I was 6. Nowdays I have two shops on Etsy. In rumosaic07 I sell mosaics, knitted items and macrame.
In my second shop RUussrvintage I offer vintage pieces dated back to the Soviet era.

If you’ve noticed both of my shops’ names start with RU which corresponds to the Domain of Russia “.ru”. The idea is to inform potential clients and buyers about Russian routs of my business.


How did you learn about Etsy?
I searched the Internet for the on-line portals where I could sell my creations. When I came across Etsy I instantly liked its layout, design and its sellers’ friendly interface.

What are your current accomplishments and your future goals?
I’ve been selling on Etsy for just 3 months now. It’s too early to report about any significant accomplishments yet. I create unique hand made items in macrame, stained glass and mosaic techniques so that all these items could make my clients’ homes beautiful and cozy. I experiment a lot and always try to learn something new. I’m constantly improving and my main goal today is to succeed in my search for personal style.


How many hours do you normally spend crafting? Could you please describe your typical day?
I’m a professional pianist. I perform a lot and that’s why I’m rarely at home. Thus, I don’t really have that much time for my crafting. However, I love to create and to work with my hands. I hand craft my items mostly at night or on weekends. In the summer when day light in Russia stays long enough I have plenty of time for my crafting. I usually craft on a balcony which is my major workshop. My family supports me and offers a valuable critic that is extremely helpful!

What do you think is an ideal future for your beautiful hand crafted items?
I wish each of my carefully hand crafted items could find a loving, caring and appreciating owner. I’ve got plenty of creative ideas that I hope to put to life so that they make someone happier.


How do you spend your free time?
I don’t really have that much free time. Thus, I don’t really watch movies. I wouldn’t want to waste my time on movies but I read a lot. My favorite book is “Antichrist” by Mezhkovskiy. I would highly recommend this book to everyone! I like Vasiliy Aksenov’s prose.

What are the techniques and materials you like to work with?
I’m currently much into American vintage glass and china or porcelain bits and pieces.


Could you please tell us about your home town?
I actually lived first seven years of my life in St.Petersburg and completely fell in love with this city. I still have a lot of relatives there and go to St.Pet every time I can. As for Omsk I don’t really like it. It’s not my city!

As for my mainn source of inspiration it’s classical music.