Report by Angele Juodzeviciene

“My jewellery is about travelling. Travelling to the inside and the outside world. Wood as a source of inspiration which I can also find everywhere gives me the opportunity to explore the whole wide world in my own special way. Wood is a very lively material and it changes all the time, it is a never ending process. That is why you can compare wood and making jewellery to travelling. Both are a process. Everything is movement, is in the flow” – says the famous jewellery artist Sina Emrich from Germany.

How do you evaluate the jewellery competition "Verweile Augenblick! Du bist so schön! – Stay moment! You are so fair"? Did you expect a prize?

 No, I did not expect a prize at all. Of course there is always the hope that something like this could happen, otherwise no one would apply for contests in general. I applied for the contest the same month that I had graduated because I found that the theme was so inspiring. I was really surprised when I heard that I had won the first prize two months later. As a freshly graduated jewellery maker this was a great and joyful experience for me.

Tell me a little about your background - what did you study and what path led you to what you’re doing now? Please, comment on the beginning of your creative road. When did you create your first piece of jewelry?

I cannot directly say where my passion for jewellery began or when I created my first piece of jewellery. What I can say is that I was a creative person from my childhood onwards. I was always drawing, painting, creating and making something. In school I always liked art classes the most and in the „Oberstufe“ (A-level education) I chose art as my major. After having passed my Abitur (German university entrance qualification) I started an apprenticeship as a goldsmith at the School for Goldsmiths and Watchmakers in Pforzheim, Germany. At that time, this profession had the perfect mix for me. Consisting of creativity and the craft skills I needed to create the things I wanted. After passing my “apprenticeship diploma goldsmith” in January 2003 I felt that my hunger for creative development still was not fed. As a consequence I started to study Jewellery and Gemstone Design at the FH Trier, department Idar-Oberstein, Germany in autumn 2003. It was a fantastic time. While studying I had the freedom to explore jewellery and art in a broad variety to extend my understanding of it. I successfully passed my examination as a jewellery designer in January 2008.

 What is a piece of jewellery for you? While creating, do you think about the person who will wear it, or is it of no importance to you at all?

I understand my jewellery as pieces of art, which are related to the human body. My creative process and my jewellery are related to what I would like to express, to a theme and idea I have, to an emotion I want to share.

What is your, as a jeweller’s, relation with fashion?

 Jewellery and fashion are related. They are both art forms which have a strong relation to the body. They can support each other but they can also exist separately. Both have in common that their wearers can use them as means of communication and to make a statement.

You say “My jewellery is about travelling” – is it your muse, which gives you ideas and inspiration?

Jewellery and travelling are two of my major passions in life. I am combining both in the “Schmucknomadin-weltlernen” project. It can be translated into “Jewellery Nomad-worldlearning”. I started the project in summer 2007 while preparing for both my final semester at university (Diploma) and for a world trip which began on the 1st of July 2008. For me, making jewellery and travelling have much in common. Both are a process. Everything is moveing, flowing and changing all the time. It is important to research, discover and cross new borders. Make new experiences, to learn, to develop and to grow. The process is essential, no matter whether one is making jewellery or one is travelling.

Have you ever been attracted to other types of art? For example, poetry, music?

My parents were always eager to introduce me and my sisters to different kinds of art. We were all given the opportunity to learn to play an instrument. So I played the piano for 10 years and the violin for 2 years.

 You work only with wood?  How would you describe your personal style of jewelry making?

Even if wood is one of the main materials I am working with I also integrate other materials like textiles, grass, gold, silver and so on into my jewellery. Now, on the “Jewellery Nomad” travel I collect materials which inspire and attract me along the way. These are materials of which I have the feeling could suit my ideas and my jewellery. I like to work with the materials and not against them. When I started the project I fell in love with wood. It is such a fantastic material. It offers so many possibilities to work with. It offers so much to discover and to explore. I am only just at the beginning of my “wood journey”. Jewellery making is a process for me. It starts with an idea, a specific topic, a thought or a symbol which inspires me. I develop my jewellery best while working directly three-dimensionally. Realizing my first ideas I usually get inspired during that process. I tend to follow new unexpected ways and to surprise myself. This process is always really exciting for me and I am always happy if it is successful in the end.

How often does your work reflect your personal feelings and moods?

My work reflects more general ideas and emotions than personal feelings and moods. But of course my concept is an artistic one which means my jewellery pieces are the results of how I am seeing, feeling and interpreting the world. So, there is always a big part of me in my works.

Artists, phenomena, sensations which inspires you?

I cannot tell you what specific phenomena or sensations inspire me. What inspires me are different things. It can be a special moment or a situation which touches me deeply. Sometimes it can be a thought or a question which is important to me or a material which fascinates me. Big loud events are not my source of inspiration; more so the silent and personal moments are the really inspiring ones.

Which modern jewellery art schools are closest to you?

The institute I studied at is the one which is the closest to me. It is the FH Trier, university for applied sciences, department Idar-Oberstein for Jewellery and Gemstone Design. The four years I studied there had a great impact on my development.

 Where can people make acquaintance with you or buy your Jewellery?

People can hike on my jewellery trail and follow my travel adventures on my blog on the internet: www.schm_ucknomadin.de There are also galleries that have my works on display. The links can be found on my site, too.

How do you understand the purpose of art and an artist?

I think that art and artists are important for a society. Not only because art brings in more variety into a society, but because it also reflects it. Art is a mirror for a society, it shows how free people and artists are, what is moving them and their surroundings. Art can give new impulses and directions for thinking; it can break “stuck” thinking patterns and give people new ways of seeing and interpreting things.

What is your most memorable travel experience?

Hard to say, there are so many great experiences I‘ve had – and still have- on the way. To mention just some highlights: Walking through the Caldera of a Volcano in Hawaii, the Silk Road cities in Uzbekistan like Samarkand with their stunning ornamental design, rocky Kyrgyzstan with its breathtaking scenery, chinese ancient villages..and so on. But while travelling one of the main attraction are the people you meet. For example, the hospitality in Central Asia. I was lucky. What I experience touched me deeply. It can happen to you that complete strangers invite you to their home for tea –just like this, without any hidden agenda-and you end up having a large dinner and a great conversation with them despite the fact that you do not speak their language.

 Favorite place to visit or place you’d like to visit?

I would like to see the whole world.

Your future plans. What would be your dream project? And what are you currently making?

I consider myself very lucky because I am living my dream project already. As mentioned above I am travelling around the world at the moment, living the life of a "Jewellery Nomad“. Having some of my tools with me like a saw, a drill, a hammer and pliers I have the freedom to create my jewellery everywhere on our planet. Getting inspiration and new impressions everywhere and having the opportunity to realize them directly in new jewellery while travelling is like a dream come true.

What is the last book you read?

 While travelling it is sometimes hard to find books you are interested in. One book I really liked and which I read before I started to travel was a book written by Gabriele Strehle: Ob ich das schaffe. The book really touched me and was a good preparation for the journey. It is about following your own way, even if it sometimes is not the most popular one. Make stops on your way, allow yourself to explore all the side ways of your journey. Believe in yourself and your ideas. Give your ideas and yourself the time to develop and to explore. It was very inspiring!

 If you had the chance to send out a direct message to the readers of our magazine, what would you like to tell to them?

 I would like to finish with a quote from Lillian Smith: “I soon realized that no journey carries one far unless, as it extends into the world around us, it goes an equal distance into the world within.“