Yana Tsvetanova
- Country
- Bulgaria
Hello! I am Yana Tsvetanova and im from Bulgaria. Something i can surely can say about myself is that i have a lot of intersts and a lot of materials and medias i like to work with. It could be acrylic or oil paint, etching graphics, making sculptures from clay or creating digital projects. But the one media that stands out is metal.
I really love using differnent metals like copper, brass and steel as a language to translate my art into. It is a material that gives a person limitless oportunities to explore, search and dream.
In my work I tend to use contrast, male and female, alpha and omega as main concepts. Also, symbols and mythology are deffinitely a tool that i try to use as often as possible.
Making art in different forms surely brings me satisfaction but what excites me the most is making pieces of art for my closest friends and relatives. After all, as mentioned earlier, art is a language, a form of communication, and thus this is the way i express my emotions the best.
I started to work with metals in 2025. I used it as a media for my BA`s final project and then continued my study for MA degree that is exclusively focused on metals and the possible work with them. In addition, this passion about using metal comes from my bloodline as well. Ancestors of mine has also worked with metal and now i have been passed this legacy for which i am deeply thankful.
Techniques that I strongly like to use, from those that I have already worked with, are any that are dynamic and need high temperature degree such as welding, solding and enamelling.
Artworks
This artwork is made of brass sheet approximately one millimeter thick. The material is cut and later patinated through the application of sulfuric acid and heat treatment.The main concept of the piece is the exploration of space through the manipulation of material and form. The work aims to create an object that feels airy, open, and spatial - an object that speakes lightness and fluidity despite being made of metal.The spiral is used as a central symbolic element. It represents movement, continuity, and organic growth. Structurally, the form consists of two intertwined spirals that are opened and positioned at varying distances from one another. This separation allows space to exist between them, emphasizing transparency and depth and form and void to coexist in balance.
This piece is created using the enameling technique on a copper base. Enamel is made from finely ground glass mixed with pigment, combined with distilled water to form a paste, and fired at temperatures between 800 and 950 degrees Celsius. During firing, the glass melts and fuses into a single continuous enamel surface.The conceptual starting point of the work is the preset theme of self-portrait. The form evokes the silhouette of a female figure and the color palette - blue and a very dark red mixed with brown - refers to the natural colors of my eyes, which can be described by the term heterochromia, meaning that each eye has a different color.This physical characteristic, which i find unique in my outward appearance, becomes the main visual element of the composition. The enamel object is transformed into a wearable brooch, allowing the self-portrait to exist as both artwork and jewelry.
Women are often viewed as fragile, delicate and vulnerable but their nature is characterized by exceptional complexity. It combines within itself both strength, endurance and firmness, as well as tenderness, softness and calmness. This piece is one of five which as one whole create an artistic project aiming to illustrate the natural duality between these qualities and characteristics through material, form and color.All the pieces have fluid shapes which represents women’s soft side - her feelings, warmth and creativity - and the metal with its strength represents women’s facade - fierce, powerful, impregnable. This counterpoint between matter and form expresses the idea of the inner world of every woman – a perfect synthesis between steadfastness and delicacy.Along with form and composition, colors are also used as a means of expression. They have the function of creating a higher contrast between the types of forms, as well as because of their symbolic meanings. Here the yellow color is used as a symbol of the bright and sunny feminine nature. In the whole work are also used blue for inner balance and poise, green to symbolize the image of mother nature, fertility and care, and white for its meaning of purity.Techniques that are used are laser cutting, welding, bending and composition.
This medallic project was created through a multi-stage casting process. First, a prototype was modeled in plaster and used to produce a mold. From this mold, a cast was made and then reproduced in brass. After casting, the brass surface was refined through filing and sanding, and finally patinated with sulfuric acid to achieve the desired visual effect.Geometry plays a central role in this work, serving simultaneously as a symbol of order and of the hidden chaos within it. The outer form is based on a circular shape that gradually opens into a geometric structure. The interior is filled with individual linear elements of varying length and thickness.These lines enhance the sense of order, yet they are intentionally irregular. They are not parallel, not evenly spaced, and not uniform. In this way, the composition balances structure and unpredictability, creating a visual symbiosis between order and chaos.