A Lighter Case Born Between Two Creations. @010

Sometimes, I make strange things.
Using leftover leather.
Using leftover parts.
Pieces that most people would simply put back into a drawer somehow become the beginning of another creation.
This lighter case was one of them.
When I create, I rarely work on just one piece at a time.
Usually, I have three projects going simultaneously.
I never draw sketches.
Instead, I build everything in my mind, imagining leather, silver, old beads, and found objects slowly coming together.
When I reach a point where one piece stops moving forward, I simply switch to another.
Then, when a new idea appears, I return to the first one.
Little by little, each piece finds its own shape.
My workbench is always filled with unfinished creations.
Opening a drawer reveals treasures collected over years of travel.
Old glass fragments.
Antique beads.
Leather.
Silver.
Materials that were never used at the time quietly wait for their moment.
I believe waiting is part of the creative process.
A small piece of glass I picked up decades ago may suddenly become the most important part of a new work.
This lighter case was born in exactly that way.
It appeared between two larger projects.
At the time, I was trying to quit smoking.
So I had an unusual idea.
Instead of making a lighter easier to carry, why not make it harder to use?
If it took a little more effort to reach for the lighter, perhaps I would use it less often.
That simple thought became the beginning of this piece.
Using leftover leather.
Using leftover parts.
A lighter case slowly came to life.
Looking back now, I realize my way of creating has never really changed.
Of course I enjoy finding new materials.
But what I love even more is opening an old drawer and quietly looking at the things that have been waiting there for years.
The parts I couldn’t use before.
The pieces of glass collected somewhere during my travels.
I know their time will come.
Perhaps people are the same.
Perhaps memories are too.
Things that seemed meaningless at the time often become connected years later.
Creation is like life.
Neither should be rushed.
Both simply wait until the right moment arrives.
That is why, even today, I still open those drawers.
To see the small pieces that are patiently waiting for their turn.

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