Mehmet Türkçelik, a 70-year-old retired primary school teacher living in Zonguldak's Çaycuma district, turns amphora pieces he collects from the beach into works of art.
Türkçelik, who was interested in the pieces of trees and rocks he collected from the seashore since childhood and which Zonguldak Bülent Ecevit University introduced as a living human treasure in 2020, started making souvenirs from branches called “çatuk” in the region, just before retiring.The Turks, who developed themselves in this field over time, decided to process pieces of amphora believed to have washed ashore from sunken ships dating from the 2nd to 13th centuries AD, around the Ancient City of Tios in the town of Filyos, and turn them into necklaces. As mentioned in a Lycian poem estimated to have been written about three thousand years ago, “If you cannot find me, don't worry, you will find my things. The stones I cut, the roads I pave, the things I embroider.” Influenced by the line “You will find statues and you will see that our fingerprints will touch each other thousands of years ago”, Türkçelik processed amphora stones that carry traces from the past and turned them into necklaces that carry a story. Türkçelik, which brings traces of the past to the present on each piece, donates its products to people who visit the town for tourism purposes. “I DEVELOPED IT MYSELF” Mehmet Türkçelik told AA reporter that there is an ancient city in the town and it is a sunken city. Saying that the necklaces he makes are very valuable to him, Türkçelik said, “You can imagine something that was touched by someone two thousand years ago and two thousand years later it's on your neck. It touches your skin. I think, 'That's a very impressive thing'. That's why, when doing these things, I try to create and carve something that matches it, gets the emotions.” there.” he said.Recalling lines from a Lycian poem said to have been written some three thousand years ago, Türkçelik said, “Here too, 'one day my hand will touch your hand'. Indeed, hand touches hand. In other words, the things he carved and the items he created are on us, on our necks, two thousand years later.” Stating that his interest in carving art began with chalk in elementary school, Türkçelik said that he made Native American totems at that time. Emphasizing that he received no training from anyone, Türkçelik said: “He didn't want to study anyway. If you have an artist, an artistic spirit or the spirit of seeing something beautiful, you see something and say 'I will create something'. That's why I developed myself. No one told me, 'Do this job'. There was no one around us anyway. that.” But when I received positive comments, my enthusiasm increased. “I follow art today to see how artworks are evolving.” Stating that he created his works without any prior planning and that each of them was shaped spontaneously during the process, Türkçelik explained that in addition to the amphorae, he also worked on pieces of tree branches that he collected from the beach.Stating that the shape of the material contributes to the products he creates, Türkçelik said: “The tree guides you. In a way, you become friends with the tree. It says: 'Don't push me too much, if you push too much, I will break.' That's why I do it without pushing too much, by getting along amicably and understanding each other.” He said: “Professor Dr. Reminding that he found his identity after Serpil Oppermann called him a “sea sculptor”, Türkçelik said that he now considers himself a sea sculptor. Türkçelik said that he is not worried about making money from the products he makes and continued his words as follows: “I make them, then I give them to someone. The sea threw them away. I did this, I did this, it turned out like this. And you can't give them away, you're jealous. That's why you don't pay for them. “I can't sell. When I sell them for money, I feel like I've betrayed them. Like I'm giving my children to someone else for adoption. That's why when you don't have to worry about money, you can produce as you want. If I produce, I think, 'It will also benefit the environment.'” Stating that sometimes children come to his workshop, Türkçelik said, “They ask me, 'Can we do it?' something?' they said. “Of course, let's go,” I said. I sit here and spread the plants in front of them. Children's imagination is completely different. Even wider than me. “Sometimes I copy from them.” he said.
