Have you ever read Mary Norton’s story ‘The Borrowers’ that Studio Ghibli later adapted into a movie called ‘The Secret World of Arrietty’? If you have, then chances are that you’ve found yourself developing a fascination with miniatures and you’re not alone. It’s a pretty open secret that everyone’s got their own little worlds in their minds. And now, you can carry your very own Miniature World with Gregory Grozos’ miniature jewelry creations!
Gregory Grozos creates impeccably detailed jewelry that you can carry along with you, no matter where you go. Awesome Inventions reached out to Gregory to learn more about him and his craft. And it was certainly enlightening!
“I grew up in an artistic environment as my father was a graphic designer and also painted in his free time,” Gregory shared.
“There were many art books in the house that I would take off the bookcase and study as a young child. It was a great environment to start developing my aspiration to become an artist.”
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Gregory Grozos creates wearable ‘Miniature Worlds’
“The initial idea behind starting to make my ‘miniature worlds’, as I call them, was to create an entire tiny world that one could actually carry on him or herself. Turning to the medium of jewelry was a means toward realizing that idea rather than an end in itself. I am not a jewelry maker in any proper sense of the word. I view each of my works as an independent work of art, with the only difference being, that some of them I make them to be wearable.”
Each and every jewelry piece that Gregory creates is as intricate as possible. The miniscule globe in his miniature library, for example, has tiny continents painted on it. He also makes the tiny people in his creations look as expressive as possible, which gives you the impression that you are peeking into an actual moment. His creations are no bigger than the size of an antique pocket watch, which, as you can imagine, does not offer much space for Gregory to work with. But he always manages to create the most fascinating scenes anyway!
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“I feel that creating art is all about opening a little window into a more magical reality, a peek into a world of infinite possibilities. We set out in this life to discover this vast cosmos, full of amazing things to learn, understand, and explore all around us.”
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So, this one is perfect for those who love unicorns because it is so magical!
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The creation process is an adventure in itself for Gregory
“I started making my miniatures about 8 years ago. It is an ongoing learning process, involving a lot of trial and error, and having to evolve my own self, abilities and knowledge along with my work.”
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“Every time there is a bit of success, there is always a trail of failures leading to that, from accidents and mistakes to tiny parts falling down to forever vanish.”
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“Sometimes things do come out rather effortlessly, but many times having things work out is a matter of persisting through difficulty and overcoming many obstacles.”
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Each piece of miniature jewelry features a unique world
“Discovery is a concept that I have used time and again, as a theme in different ways in my works. Astronomers, alchemists, inventors, and airship commanders populate tiny workshops, building machines, robots, and flying vehicles. In some of my other works, unicorns, fairies and mythical beings inhabit otherworldly landscapes. Science and engineering meet magic and fantasy.”
Instead of sticking to one theme or specialty like most miniaturists, Gregory creates miniature jewelry that belongs to various universes. He makes jewelry inspired by the steampunk universe and whimsical worlds where mythical creatures thrive, to name a few. His most recent creation features two tiny men manning the machinery inside a miniature factory that ‘turns stones into gold’. The extremely intricate work is bedecked with a myriad of cog wheels fitted inside a vintage watch case. It’s worth noting that Gregory doesn’t always use vintage watch frames or pocket watches – sometimes, he places his miniature jewelry masterpieces under delicate glass domes and orbs.
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Putting together a miniature world requires a lot of resourcefulness and flexibility
“This will sound a little cliché, but there is no such thing as impossible. It is a matter of how you keep at it until your idea has materialized. What seems to be a straight path in achieving something doesn’t always work and you have to figure out many workarounds, bringing in unconventional techniques and materials and thinking outside the box.”
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“Serendipity plays a big part in the process, accidentally discovering amazing things or having something magically evolve into something else, completely different from what you originally planned it to be.”
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Gregory uses unexpectedly ordinary materials to create his mini jewelry pieces
“I work with a lot of watch parts, the bits and pieces that you will get by pulling apart a clock or watch. The variety in shape and form of all the tiny mechanical pieces is phenomenal. By cutting, grinding and combining them in the right way, I can build many of the detailed parts needed for one of my pieces.”
At first glance, you’d come up with the impression that Gregory uses special materials for his miniature jewelry. But that couldn’t farther from the truth. In reality, he repurposes parts of broken watches and random objects he finds in his studio. And sometimes he even uses things he finds when he’s out and about!
All these things are transformed through Gregory’s masterful manipulations and painstaking attention to detail. It’s certainly no easy feat paring down regular-sized objects into something smaller than your thumb nail! And as you would expect, it does take a lot of time to accomplish as well: one jewelry piece could take days or even a year or two to finish!
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“The materials I use are typically non-standard. When I want to build one of the details, I often don’t even know how to go about it, so I will start simply looking around the studio, trying to find that bit of something that will do it. It might even be a bit of scrap material, or maybe some little piece of old machinery I find on the ground while walking on the street.”
On images like this one you can see how tiny his creations really are!
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Creating and piecing together miniature worlds takes a lot of time and patience
“Creating one of my works takes time. It really depends on the piece. Some pieces take days to complete. On some of the more complex ones, I need to put a lot of work into many separate details, and they might even take months to complete. More often than not, I am working on several pieces at a time, so it’s hard to say how much time each one takes exactly. Some pieces have to be left on the side for a while, even a year or two.”
It’s been said that all good things take time. This certainly rings true for Gregory, as his craft requires a lot of time to accomplish. The entire process of putting together a ‘Miniature World’ will require astounding levels of concentration and focus. But he also emphasized that it’s equally important to know when to pause and bide your time. After all, forcing yourself to finish work when your muse is absent won’t end well!
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Gregory credits a traditional Chinese meditation practice in helping him develop his focus
“One of the things that has really helped me develop my focus and power of concentration is practicing a traditional Chinese form of meditation called Falun Gong. It features gentle exercises as well as living one’s life according to the principles of truth, kindness and tolerance. Using positive principles to view things has really changed everything for me.”
Every single Miniature World that Gregory puts forth into the world is a testament of his beliefs and hard work. No two of his miniature jewelry collections will ever be the same. In fact, he doesn’t seem to re-make his designs, which makes his work truly one-of-a-kind. Give his Etsy shop a browse, and who knows? You just might discover something you’ll love! He also accepts commissions, so if you’re looking to bring your little world to life, get in touch with Gregory and make it happen.
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Now, that we have seen many tiny worlds, which piece of miniature jewelry is your favorite? Let us know in the comment section!
Source: Instagram | Etsy | gregorygrozos.com