Art Au Naturel

driftwood jewelry brooches from turkish artists yalos photo

Beachcombing becomes Filiz Ateş and Christiane Alaettinoğlu--and anyone who puts on one of their driftwood brooches, necklaces, or rings.

The two artists and friends gather materials on the beaches near their home in Alanya, on Turkey's Mediterranean coast, and sell the finished products under the name Yalos Alanya, from the Greek word that locals have adopted to refer to driftwood. Their whimsical designs also include sculptures and wall decorations of fish, birds, and other animals, as well as human figures, all crafted with the same philosophy:

"When we pick up 'the beached,' as we call them, the artistic work has already been done. Our job is only to put together and to bring out the beauty perfectly created by nature."

driftwood bird from turkish artists yalos photo

Filiz and Christiane hew to this ideal by not carving or cutting any of the wood. As they write on their website, "What you see is what we found on the beaches of Alanya"--and the shape of a reclining woman or the contours of a fish that they
saw in a simple curved twig. Via: Pukka Living

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