Marina Fesenko a.k.a. @rubino_oro
We have been very impressed with the wide spectrum and exceptional skill in Marina’s work for a while. We exchanged emails and asked her some questions about her work.
Marina Fesenko
Talks to us about melting glass and being a rocket scientist, a locksmith and a fireman
How long have you worked with boro glass? Almost two years:) - since I first bought Momka glass:) It was my first borosilicate glass - even before the purchase of transparent.
When you make work, do you go from one theme to the other? For example, do you stick with the ocean and underwater life of magic jellyfish and hydras or do you just make dragons and starfish all in the same session as it comes to you? Topics for work come in waves... usually, the "wave" lasts for two or three days and subsides. And, as a rule, these two or three days are born works in the same subject.
Your work is very varied. The dragon is so different from the eye. Can you tell us more about how you switch styles what do you think is the most important thing when one decides to try new things? I like change as one of the basic principles of life (and the paradox is the most interesting part of it for me.) Therefore, when choosing a theme for my work, the main thing for me is not to resist when sudden "waves" of themes come by themselves and replace each other:) Occasionally, the choice of theme is dictated by the desire to explore a new glass - creating Contemplators ( eyes) allows me to try different modes of processing borosilicate glass and simultaneously to be an artist (to give the eye a certain character). Otherwise with Dragons - here the choice of glass for me is not random and is inextricably linked to the character of the person ( Alaska Night and Green flambe for me are great for dragons)
You are drawn to the stars and planets. What do you find that draws you there? Space is my theme in life and my profession. To be brief : in early childhood - a fascinating book with fairy tales about constellations with pictures... then I graduated from the University with a degree in Spacecraft Control Systems. Then - several years of work in the Russian Mission Control Center... And, of course, the first thing I wanted to do when I took up glass was a piece of space in a crystal sphere... In addition, for me as an engineer, the most interesting thing is the invention of new techniques and technologies. When I first sat down at the torch six years ago, I immediately started inventing a way to make space marble:)
Whoa, wait! You used to work in the Russian Space Mission Control Center... and then you switched to glass. Why did you choose to work with glass over, say painting, or computer animation or ...? I've been drawing and painting for as long as I can remember , but I never really thought about it seriously. In my family, everyone drew well, but it was considered that mathematics was a profession, and painting was entertainment. But my husband - he is a film Director - made me a professional artist ( this was closer to him than the wife - "cosmonaut" [the Russian word for for astronaut] :))) After that, I worked as a film artist for several years. Glass interested me initially with its beauty and almost limitless possibilities. And when I got to know it better, I discovered that it also opens up a limitless space for research and experiment. It is not enough to be an artist here - you need to be a bit of a chemist, physicist, mathematician... and a bit of a locksmith and fireman:))) I am not sure that I will ever be able to say that I know everything about glass - and this makes me very happy and allows me to hope that my interest in glass will not dry up :)
What was the special moment when you made that decision to plunge into glass? How did that happen? I saw the most beautiful beads in the store... As a woman I wanted to have Many. Different. Beautiful. Beads:))) As an artist, I decided that I would not leave it to chance but I'll take matters into my own hands.:)))
“It is not enough to be an artist here - you need to be a bit of a chemist, physicist, mathematician... and a bit of a locksmith and fireman”
Tell us more about the droopy eye, the Contemplator and with the devil horns? How did this little character come about? When creating something an artist always writes a self portrait:))) Well, or a portrait of some part of yourself:) And stunningly beautiful boro is very helpful in this:)
What is the newest thing that you are working on? We had not seen your vintage looking heart-shape pieces, they are really cool... I have several new ideas that are waiting to be implemented... I wanted, for example, to make a marble with a map of the starry sky - like a globe of the firmament... I wanted to make a model of the Solar System... There are a few other ideas, but I can't say that "I'm working on them" - rather, they are working inside me and may one day come out - and perhaps I will be attracted by something else:)))
How do you think the self isolation in the time of COVID-19 has affected your creativity? What has changed in your world as an artist? Of course, the epidemic worries me, as it does everyone else. But for an artist working in his Studio, self-isolation is the norm. My inspiration always comes from positive sources - I can only say that the virus did not inspire me to captive it in glass:)
So far our favorite piece is this heart with angel wings wrapped around it. It is as if there is something there underneath and wrapping around it. What can you tell us more about tihs? What colors did you use here? Yes, I love the symbolism of this thing. For me, this winged heart symbolizes kindness, freedom, care and love... At first, the winged hearts had a dark background and a slightly more dramatic hue - in the dark winged heart there was a kind of reminder of the finiteness of all things... They were the wings of a fallen angel grieving for people... and trying to protect them . Sometimes I want to make some more joyful hearts and change the background to a sparkling sky ( this is Greasy Acadian Night) - the angel has soared back into the sky, but still protects his human...
-- Marina lives in Moscow with her family and two cats and spends a lot of time in her workshop and in her inner garden with her orchids and cacti...