‘Artist Spotlight’ Of The Week: Oleg Turkovskiy
Howdy Nation! In today’s post, we are going to be featuring our ‘Artist Spotlight’ of the week: Oleg Turkovskiy. Using heat and his own two hands, Oleg has been able to create create a beautiful octopus sculpture! Can you guess what it’s made of? If you said metal, then you are right! Let’s take a look at his intricate process.
Meet Oleg Turkovskiy!
Having found his calling in metalworking 7 years ago, Oleg is an incredible artist who uses a variety of tools along with metal and iron to create his inspiring sculptures.
His preference is artistic metal forging. Each piece is forged by hand and has no repeats!
In artistic forging, he really likes to make sculptures of animals. Oleg tries to breathe life into every work!
What draws you in or fascinates you the most about octopuses? When did this start for you?
“Octopuses are fabulous creatures from another universe. They fascinate and attract attention with their dissimilarity and beauty.”
OctoNation members love knowing how long your work takes you to complete… Can you describe the process?
“It took me more than a month to forge such an octopus!
The arms are forged from a piece of iron with a diameter of 2.5 inches (65 mm.) This piece of iron is heated in a forge and pulled out with a hammer into a long octopus arm. Then, it is heated again in the forge and the texture of the skin is applied… and 8 times over 🙂
Each suction cup is forged separately from small pieces of metal and welded to the arm. There are hundreds of suckers!
The total weight of this metal octopus is about 132lbs. (60 kg) with a length of 4.2 feet (1.3 meters)
The work on creating such an octopus is very difficult, but the result is worth it!!! I, living thousands of kilometers from the sea and never seeing live octopuses, I was able to finally touch an octopus!”
Was this modeled after a specific octopus species? Did you use any references?
“I made an octopus the way I imagine it. I’ve only seen them in photos, but I think my octopus looks like a real one!”
What materials were used?
“For this octopus art piece, I used iron and metal.”
Who (or what) are your biggest influences?
“My dream to see live octopuses has had a huge impact on me. I hope to make this a reality some day soon!”
When do you feel the most creative?
“Normally, when something strikes me. Mostly when I want to look or touch something, but for some reason I can’t do it, then I start doing it in metal. I try to make it as realistic as possible so that my work looks alive.”
How do you know when a piece is finished?
“There is always a point where you look at your art work and come to understand that it is alive. That’s when I take a step away and stop touching it.”
What’s the best website for people to discover your work?
“You can keep track of Oleg’s work on his Instagram acouunt: @oleg_turkovskiy.”
🐙 Octopus Fun Fact
“Oleg is self-taught freelance artist! That is so impressive!!”
Thank You For Joining Us For Artist Spotlight!
First, we want to give a big thank you to Oleg for allowing us to showcase this captivating octopus art on OctoNation. To continue supporting Oleg and his work, make sure to follow them on Instagram @oleg_turkovskiy. If you have any interest in commissioning a piece from them, make sure to send him a direct message!
If you want to educate yourself some more about all sorts of different cephalopods, take a look at our encyclopedia. Or, what we call it, our Octopedia!
Connect with other octopus lovers via the OctoNation Facebook group, OctopusFanClub.com! Make sure to follow us on Facebook and Instagram to keep up to date with the conservation, education, and ongoing research of cephalopods.
More Posts To Read:
- Do Octopus Bite?
- Does Octlantis Exist?
- “How The Octopus Lost Its Shell” (Octopus Comic)
- What’s The Difference Between Cuttlefish vs. Octopus?
- Breaking News – There are now THREE new species of Nautilus!
Vee is the blog manager here at OctoNation. Her love and knowledge for all things cephalopods has grown immensely since joining the OctoNation team- and continues to grow daily!
Vee uses her skills of writing, editing, and brainstorming to help create fun, yet educational posts about cephalopods- Something everyone can read and enjoy! As someone who spent the better part of her childhood near the ocean in Miami, Florida, she grew up learning to appreciate all sea life. Her love for the sea inspired her to do something daring- she dyed her hair blue!
