HUMMINGBIRDS

Andreea Corpodean is an artist known for her use of polymer clay to bring mystical worlds to life. Her exceptional use of color creates vibrant, enchanting designs inspired by fairytales.

Ever since Andreea started working with polymer clay, she has been fascinated by wings. “Whether we’re talking about birds or mythical/fantasy creatures such as dragons, phoenixes, or griffins, the wings are always my favorite part to sculpt,” she reveals. “So, when a customer asked if I could make her a hummingbird necklace, I was super excited. As it turned out, there’s a small step from excitement to obsession.”

Birds as a motif in jewelry are often associated with certain meanings. Hummingbirds are symbols of joy, happiness, and hope. They may be small but they are very powerful, and that’s exactly how Andreea wanted these necklaces to be: an explosion of vivid colors and positive energy, a joy to wear and to look at. They are quite small compared to her other bird necklaces but they are bold and eye-catching nonetheless.

What started as a single custom piece, soon turned into an entire collection, simply because the artist was overwhelmed by all the possibilities. “How is one supposed to make only one necklace when the color possibilities are endless?” Andreea embraced her incapacity to make choices and did what any restless artist would do: obsessively make more and more hummingbird variations – because if you can’t make up your mind and stick to only one version, the next best option is to try all color combinations, right?

Thinking about her artistic journey, Andreea never thought of herself as being the kind of artist that could make the same design over and over again without getting bored. “But here I am, unable to stop creating these cute and colorful birds,” she continues her story.

“I still sculpt them fully by hand, although people have suggested making molds for them. But, for me, using molds seems to take away part of the joy of creating something from scratch and seeing it come together. I want to fully experience the process for each one of these little birds.”

Making so many colorful hummingbirds, the artist discovered that making variations of a design can be a good exercise for creativity. You’d think that the more you make the same design, the fewer ideas you have about it, but Andreea found out that it’s quite the opposite and it’s wonderful.

After this experience she knows for sure she’ll be making a lot more of these hummingbirds because there are still a ton of ideas and color combinations she wants to try out. “However, while the comfort of recreating a familiar design feels nice, I also crave to let my mind wander freely in unknown territories in order to come up with new designs and grow,” she confesses. “So I try to mix up the coziness of familiarity with the excitement and challenge of the new.”