For the new season, I imagined a creature adorned with gemstones and colourful feathers.

The images of huge gems hanging on geometric lines remained in my mind for a while.
And at least for the recent summer seasons, I seem to connect with the anatomy, forms and organisms of birds - so I decided to create another version of imagined creature with wings, light body and huge eyes.

The bird is a truly playful being, always brightening the space where she dwells.
Anyone who sees her wonderful shades of feathers will fall in love with her, especially when the bird is flying above the sea - where she is looking after as a guardian.

Her days and nights are kissed by the sun, gently brushed by the ocean breeze, and blessed by the stars in the night sky.

From Sketchbook Pages,

Few drawings I made thinking about the mood, energy and rhythm of the concept.

When I first read about sea glasses from an article, I instantly thought they must be part of the core elements from the world of Jewel Bird.

They come from the litter that people threw away so indifferently, but after years of the tides and the wind, the broken glass bottles are now treated as treasures.

They are the evidences of time, also reflecting how men treated the earth and the sea.

While browsing books from one of my favourite photography bookstore, I found a publication by Mandy Parker.

She collects garbage on the beach and from the ocean, to photograph them in her special facility and play with the colours.
She makes them look like colourful sculptures or even treasures, ironically, by portraying them with a unique vision.
Not only the outcomes are spectacularly beautiful, but I also fell in love with her process of working, how she collects litter from the beach, then play with them in her own lab, strictly controlling conditions until she achieves the images she has in her mind - to throw the fundamental questions towards the world.

Ancient Glass Beads

Around B.C. 1C ~ A.D. 3C

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Pictures I took in Seoul

The colourful plates in a show window, stained glass ceiling at the old Seoul Station building, pillars made with carved wood, and a scene the typical mood of Insa-dong district in Seoul.

Paintings of Hilma af Klint and Yulia Iosilzon were also part of my inspirations while working on Jewel Bird collection.

The otherworldly space and the wonderful colours are truly mesmerising, the space and the flow of the paintings were what I was looking for.
I am a long-time fan of Hilma af Klint's work, while Yulia Iosilzon is a relatively recent discovery.

From my personal observation, Klint's paintings are made of geometric forms, improvised with endless possibilities and implications of the nature. Very accurate, but constantly evolving like burdening sprouts or an embryo floating among the amniotic fluid. I always felt that her paintings were full of life.

On the other hand, Yulia Iosilzon creates her own world with the elements she creates - such as mushroom boys, girls with grumpy faces (although all of her characters look rather androgynous), the bees, bubbles and the frogs.
Some people say it is about escapism, I think she is just a natural storyteller being true to herself.
I could imagine that she must be a quick painter. Totally in love.