In the 1990s, ethnic motifs and “antique-looking” decorative items became popular in the jewelry art of the Urals. Craftsmen tried to recreate the shape of antique items and traditional ornaments.

Artist Vladimir Shitsalov also followed these trends in his works. He created an entire series of works based on the images of old river vessels. The interior decoration “Shallop” is part of this series. The “Shallop” is a small elongated boat on short legs. Its sides are woven from silver-plated, melchior wire and decorated with randomly placed ornamental stones. There is a large elongated inlay made of moss agate of an irregular shape in its center instead of the bottom.

In his youth, Vladimir Shitsalov first entered a law school. Accidentally, during his senior year, he developed an interest in jewelry art and started to create his own works. When the future artist obtained his first diploma, he entered the Art History Department at the Ural State University. Art theory, however, was not as intriguing for Shitsalov as practice was. He left the university after his third year but continued to create pieces of jewelry and elaborate figurines for interior décor.

Vladimir Shitsalov has taken part in jewelry art exhibitions since 1980, and in 1998, he was accepted into the Artists Union of Russia. Nowadays, his works are housed in several museum collections and private collections in Russia and abroad.

Besides ethnic motifs, he turns to the images of fish, insects, as well as abstract geometric shapes.