Crafter Interview: Tetiana Korobeinyk

Tetiana Korobeinyk is the artist behind Silk Ribbon Embroidery. She creates beautifully realistic images of flowers and more in stunning colour. Welcome to iCraft, Tania!

Tell us a little bit about yourself

My life, like the lives of the people of my generation who have personally experienced the collapse of the Soviet Union, was not easy. It is possible that the difficulties experienced by people push them to search for a new realization of all that the Creator has placed in us.

I was born in a small town in Ukraine. My father loved  nature, and he taught his three daughters to love it too. He told us of the medicinal properties of plants and led us to the woods to pick mushrooms.

As an adult I studied telecommunications and went to work in Yakutia, now called Saha-Yakutia, in Siberia. Friends, it is the most beautiful place. Nature is magnificent, monumental, powerful. Bellissima!

Later our family was moved to Kiev. No one was waiting to give us a job, and it was a difficult time for us. There were days when I did not know what to put on the plates of the children.

Eventually I came to look for work in Italy, I met my current husband. We've been married 10 years, we have a common child, Ivan. We live in beautiful southern Italy, but the work is not there. Before I began to embroider with silk ribbon, I also did crochet and macrame.

What got you started and why did you choose silk embroidery?

I first saw embroidery with ribbon in a book bought in Kiev, by an Italian, Donatella Chiotti, in a Russian edition. The beauty in that book got into my hands, it infected me for life. From there I began my new life, full of creation and satisfaction. The first works now look very simple, not so much co-ordinated colors, but they seemed then to be masterpieces! I think it goes this way for all who learn this technique.

My husband has always supported. He told me: Tania, continue, make them a lot and put them aside, then you will have success! I did not believe him, but I kept going, because it gave me so much joy. Years have passed, I began to sell my work.


 

Who are some of your influences? Who has been your inspiration?

One of my most important influences is Lady Di van Nikerk from South Africa, a very famous person in the world of ribbon embroidery. She's my friend on Facebook, has written several books and organizes international competitions. Here is her website.

Those who want to get advice about silk ribbon embroidery should find the Di van Nikerk books, and view her videos on YouTube. Here is another good video channel that I follow and  "Тютелька в тютельку", though videos are in Russian.  

I find inspiration in nature, seeing the pictures of painters, work of other embroiderers. The Hungarian painter Szechenyi Szidonia inspires me most of all.

Have you done any shows or exhibits?

I did a solo show a few years ago in my city called Foggia. You can watch the show below (in Italian).
 

I have participated in some collective exhibitions with artists from Foggia, who have been my colleagues and have always admired my art. Here is a link to one of my shows on YouTube.

I work at home, everything is very prosaic.
In addition to the housewife work at home, I find the time to do what I like most of all. For the last year, most of my work has been commissioned. Examples include in Russia, the United States, Australia, France, United Kingdom, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Germany, Spain, Italy....

Here are some links to see more of my work:
on YouTube, (my YouTube Channel),  Facebook (my personal Facebook page).
 

My favourite thing to do is to embroider flowers and landscapes. I love to take the embroidery colors after finishing and make some adjustments, adjusting the shadows, give more light to the picture.

The difficulties I have no more, there is only an immense joy!
 

Thank you Tania for sharing your story and your beautiful work with us.