(Natalya Shumeyko)

An Imaginatively Magical Managerie 

by Pam North

They are captivating and quirky, winsome and whimsical, endearing and engaging, and each unique and cheeky personality is quite capable of stealing anyone’s heart. That is the underlying intent of 
imaginative artist, Natalya Shumeyko, whose seemingly limitless imagination is the essence behind every delightful animal in the spectrum of her menagerie; she is delighted when her creations find loving homes with appreciative collectors.

Born in 1982, Natalya loved drawing and painting while growing up in Donetsk, Ukraine, often doing so to make nice gifts for her friends and relatives. That childhood endeavor eventually would expand and evolve to become the basis of her future career.

Since April of 2014, Donetsk and its surrounding areas have been a major site of fighting in the ongoing Donbass War, as pro-Russian separatist forces battled against Ukrainian military forces for control of the city and surrounding areas. Because of the war, Natalya and her family moved to Nizhni Novgorod, Russia in 2014.

Natalya’s husband and three children are a source of great happiness for her. “My wonderful family and two funny dogs are a great joy, and give me a reason to move forward,” she said. “When my first child was born, I started creating toys for her, not realizing that my toys ever could be of interest to other people. I never imagined that my creations eventually would live all over the world! The birth of my second child was the impetus for all my creative potential to burst out of me. I draw inspiration from them. I also find inspiration in nature, and from interesting materials and textures.”

Natalya now creates marvelous handmade teddies and animals, skillfully incorporating a variety of materials into her crafting, as she explained: “Usually I use plush, viscose, and fur for miniature animals. Working with leather has opened up new opportunities for me. For small details I use leather or polymer clay. I also use plasticene, a putty-like modeling material. I paint my creations with acrylic paints, and use ribbons, rhinestones, and beads as decorative elements. All are handmade and one-of-a-kind, made with lots of love and attention.” With no formal training in her craft, she basically is self-taught, evolving in her craft by practicing diligently everyday for years, trying new techniques, and by never being afraid to experiment.

“I thought that my life always would be connected with drawing, but at the same time, I loved sewing, knitting, and crocheting. I didn't need ready-made diagrams and patterns; I always could come up with something myself, by envisioning the shape I needed. Gradually, I began to understand that I can design really interesting original creations because I’m always trying to come up with something new. When I got my hands on an old jacket made of thin leather, I found a new use for it as leather eyelids, knees, and soles for my animals. Using leather in this way was something new that I hadn’t seen anywhere else before. I used it for the folds of the eyelids, creases of the knees. Now many people do this because I taught those techniques in my training courses.”

Natalya shared some helpful advice: “You need to work from your mistakes. After all, your mistakes are the best experience, the most expensive lessons. I didn't have to learn from other masters; I learned everything from myself when creating something new, by making mistakes and not giving up until I came to the desired result.”

All artists find challenges in what they do. For Natalya, it’s stitching parts. “It is so boring! I don’t like monotonous work. What I love doing most is the shading, because it’s those final touches that enliven the character. I like to choose shades that create interesting color transitions and impart character.”

She sells her products online at Etsy, Bear Pile, and some Russian sites. She also offers many of her original patterns for sale, which are accompanied by detailed instructions to enable the purchaser to easily sew the details and understand how to assemble the finished creation.

Conducting workshops to teach others has been part of her life. Previously, she held live master classes in Moscow and St. Petersburg. “It is very difficult to teach a person to make a whole creation in three days. Working with the leather features requires much time and perseverance, so I began teaching those techniques in my video courses, a much better venue for a person to learn, and to create carefully and  conveniently. Now I have a baby, so I only conduct online master classes, but when the baby grows up, I plan to do some live classes again.”

The future of artist-made bears and animals looks positive to her. “I think that collectors are becoming more selective, and that they want to buy creations that are special with unique features. Artists will have to compete for the attention of collectors. Now there are many training courses by talented artists, providing lessons for many complex techniques for making soft-sculptured toys, and artists easily can learn something new. Soft-sculpture animals have evolved from even five years ago, and collectors are not so easily surprised anymore. It is important to create interesting characters that will capture the hearts of the collectors. All of us artists need to grow, develop, and offer something interesting and new to collectors. We can't stand still.”

She aspires to grow her business, saying, “When my youngest grows up, I want to go to exhibitions abroad to communicate with other artists and collectors there. I also plan to launch a separate line of children's toys. My eldest daughter and I are currently working on this, and I hope that everything will work out as planned. I also would like to create animals with special movable joints that I have designed and plan to have cast in the future.”

Contact Information:
Name: Natalya Shumeyko
Email: Shumeykonatalya@yandex.ua 
Website: https://www.bearpile.com/Vdohnovlennaya
Business Name: - teddybyshumeyko
Address: Russia, Nizhny Novgorod, St. Zhurova, 1, apt. 15
Telephone: +79018015100

Photos:
https://www.facebook.com/natalya.shumeyko
https://www.bearpile.com/Vdohnovlennaya