When dedication and persistence pay off
- Anatoly creates his own stone works and restores old ones
- He never limits himself to one technique
- His works can be seen at a museum in Ekaterinburg
Anatoly Zhukov has been working with stone for over 30 years and his craftsmanship is proof of the importance of dedication. From the Urals, a region famous for its mineral wealth, his first encounter with stone as a material was at school. However he had many jobs – locksmith, artist, decorator and industrial designer – before finally turning to stone work. Now one of the most acclaimed masters in Ekaterinburg and in Russia, Anatoly remains very modest. “I don’t teach people deliberately, but when people ask me for help, I always try to, so some people consider me their teacher,” he says. In 2013 he won the highest award of the Carl Fabergé Memorial Foundation for preserving and developing the traditions of Fabergé.
INTERVIEW
From nature and the beauty of stone itself. Stone directs you as to how it should be shaped; you just follow. Lately I’ve been drawn to the aesthetics of stone, so I keep its original texture. That applies to quartz, mocha stone and flint.
By observing stone processing at a factory where I worked as a young man, I learned many skills quite early. By the 90s I could use a large variety of stone work techniques: carving cameos and intaglios, round sculpture, Florentine and three-dimensional mosaic and others.
I restore stone objects and recreate masterpieces. I recently recreated a map of France made of precious and semi-precious stones. The original was crafted for the 1900 Paris Exposition and gifted to France. Making this replica took three masters, including myself, two years of work.
Trust the material, listen to stone, consider its characteristics and natural patterns. Do not take advantage of it to satisfy your own whims. Treat stone with respect.
