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Meet the Artist Frances (Fenya) Lediaev Jewelry Artist   My work stemmed from a lifetime of learning about gemstones from my Father, who had been an avid rock hound, his whole life.  It has been an absolute joy working with wire to showcase gemstones, crystals and beads.  The connection that happens between the shape of the gemstone and the wire amazes me every time I finish a piece of jewelry.  It seems the wire, along with my hands, a little intuition and pliers, has the ability to form many shapes, twists and turns to complement every gemstone.    There is an excitement and anticipation at the beginning of every project because I know the journey will result in a one-of-a-kind piece of jewelry.  I obtain my inspiration from everything that surrounds me, such as, shapes, abstract art, architecture and the beauty of nature.  I hope that when you wear my jewelry you will experience some of the joy that I experienced when I made your piece.   I have been making jewelry since December of 2006.  I am a self-taught artist using Preston Reuther's wire sculpture DVDs, as well as Eni Oken's tutorials on making bezels and using the very thin wire to incorporate my stones.   * The very first piece of jewelry I made and why it inspired me. - As I was learning how to manipulate brass wire into a pendant setting, while viewing Preston Reuther's DVD on wire sculpting, it made me realize this will take a bit of practice before my piece came out the same as on the DVD! I decided to switch to dead soft copper wire to learn and it was the best decision I made because copper is so soft and easily manipulated into swirls and curls.   * Why I like to make jewelry - To be able to manipulate wire into a sculptural setting is so exciting and brings me joy. Each piece becomes jewelry as art.   * What inspired this line of jewelry or my overall style - Definitely Preston Reuther's fantastic jewelry DVDs.  I love using twisted wire along with flat wire in each piece to give it more dimension.  I found after making many designs that I have gravitated toward art deco, art nouveau, and antique styles.   * Why I love gemstones - Every time I pick up a stone, either in a cabochon or a tumbled stone, I love the feel of the natural material that came from the earth. I can't seem to stop buying designer cabs!   * How I discovered jewelry making - After sewing drapes for my living room windows I discovered that I needed to extend the top blue color down because I had cut the material a few inches too short.  I then went looking for lace, but could not find any long enough and then I saw some beads hanging in the store, so I bought a few and started putting beads together and attaching them to the drapes.  I found myself beading well into the wee hours of the morning and did not want to go to sleep because I was having so much fun!  I then went online and started looking for other beads and came across Preston Reuther's DVDs on wire sculpture and the rest is history!