circle # 26 Collage

My name is Dina Toporska. I am artist, world-wide traveler, engineer brain and nature lover. Always loved exploring new media and materials, but since moved to the ocean shore fell in love with seashells. For many years, I have collected seashells from some of the most amazing destinations around the world and incorporate them into my artwork. All of the seashells in my artwork are physically collected on the shorelines of the Indian, Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. They are ethically sourced, meaning that I collect only from the beaches I have visited and the shells do not contain any creatures inside. In the last three years, the captain of the boat and I sailed around the world, which allowed my collection to grow exponentially. In each piece of art, I use 200 or more species of shells which are the best from my collection. Diverse tints, color combinations, textures and infinite ornaments can be found on each individual shell.  In my work, I attempt to display the complexity and geometric beauty of each shell, even in the smallest. I want to share the astonishing diversity of species, natural palettes and shapes. Mollusk shells, to me, are a part of the nature’s perfection, created in a world long before humans roamed the earth. Did you know, for example, that the world contains around 80,000 species of mollusks? each shell is a perfect example of nature’s symmetry, golden ratio and unique pattern. Nature’s creativity is constrained by laws generated by physical and chemical forces. English scientist and writer Philip Ball explained in his book ‘Patterns in Nature: Why the Natural World Looks the Way it Does” that patterns can only be fully appreciated through repetition, “ Its when you see several of them side by side in glorious detail that you start to get a sense of how nature takes a theme and runs with it”. Art for me is a form of meditation, completely engulfing me in earthly beauty and harmony. I have minimalist approach that comprises vivid colour and simple geometric shapes, concentric circles, waves, lines focusing on the perfection of each shell.