The Ukrainian artist who creates beautiful Christmas figurines with wadding [VIDEO]

Ukrainian artist Maryna Gerashchenko, 56, makes lovely Christmas figurines out of wadding in her home studio.

Surrounded by cotton wool, threads and colored paints, 56-year-old Ukrainian artist Maryna Gerashchenko creates delightful Christmas figurines in her home studio.

Maryna is inspired by the Christmas atmosphere she breathed as a child in her grandmother's house and with her works she revives ancient traditions, using very simple materials. The body of the figurines is made up of wadding soaked in wheat paste, wrapped around copper wires; the next step is to apply a tiny clay face to the little body, and then make it expressive thanks to delicate strokes of color.

Maryna's art has distant origins. Cotton wool Christmas decorations were popular in the days of the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union, when many people could not afford to buy the expensive glass decorations, thus preferring home-made crafts.

Each statuette, created by the expert hands of the artist, represents a specific character made in the smallest detail, whether it is a little girl holding a small box for sweets or a boy carrying colored lights. Each creation has a name which is written on the packaging.

Maryna's works are very successful, so much so that they are bought by private collectors from Russia, Moldova and the Baltic countries.