Artospective: Micro Sculptures from Graphite by Salavat Fidai from Russia.

About Artist - Salavat Fidai was born and raised in a small village at the foot of the Ural Mountains in Russia. He grew up in a family of teachers who taught art at school. He was surrounded by a creative atmosphere and since his early childhood Salavat was interested in the Visual Arts. However, he never followed in the footsteps of his parents. At that time, he did not believe it was possible to make a living as an Artist. So he decided to become a Lawyer.

He graduated a Law Faculty and worked for more than 20 years in trading companies. He was successful in his career and received a senior role in a prestigious company. Although his life was very comfortable, he didn’t truly feel content with his Career.

He came to a turning point, when he began to reflect on the meaning of life and his purpose. He bravely left his job and spent a year searching for answers to the questions; Who am I? What is my destiny? He changed his lifestyle; no more Television, included some spiritual practices, a lot of reading and traveling with his family. Finally, he found his answers and decided to devote himself to art. He wanted to go back to a time, when as a child, he was painting every day! That is what made him truly happy, then and now.

Salavat decided to become an Artist in every sense of the word. He was beginning to see life in a different light, his world sparkled with new colours. He gained life’s true meaning, to see the beauty in everything and to do what one loves. It was a very difficult and risky decision to refuse a highly paid job, and to deprive his family of stable income. He was nervous about embarking on this journey without any guarantee of success.

With the support of family and friends, he began to believe in himself and gained international recognition.

About Carved Pencils - At school, I really liked carving sculptures out of wood and chalk. I liked to carve animals and portraits of ancient heroes. In early 2015, I returned to the forgotten passion and discovered a new material: pencil graphite rods.

This is a unique and very interesting form of art. Graphite is an extremely brittle material, and sculptures often break down in the process. But it does not upset me, on the contrary, I find it exciting and suspenseful. Every new sculpture is a challenge and there is no absolute guarantee that I will succeed. The more complicated the shape, the more interesting I find it.

The process of carving sculptures for me is like meditation. While working I listen to instrumental music, it helps me to concentrate and clears some space in my mind for inspiration. I have to work at night, when the whole family is asleep, so there are no interruptions.

I find ideas and themes for my sculptures in my surroundings; Movies and Cartoons, Animals, Pop Culture, Comic Books, Works of Art, Household Items and Architecture. Occasionally I get ideas from my fans and subscribers on Instagram.