Imagination-the best tool to explore reality
- Posted by Cristina Stoica
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The jewel from metal clay is becoming more and more popular in Romania as well. If until a few years ago no one had heard of clay that can be shaped and then burned, transforming almost miraculously into silver or another metal, today we are talking about a series of passionate artists who make jewelry from metal clay. How they learned to work with metal clay? What are they inspired by? What difficulties do they encounter? What does the jewel from metal clay? Here are just some of the questions we invited them to answer. This interview inaugurates an extensive series dedicated to artists metal clay from Romania.
Work with metal clay since 2014, when he only dreamed of making silver jewelry. He likes to combine working techniques with metal clay with those of the traditional jewel. She is ambitious and never lets herself down, and her jewelry always has a hidden story behind it. Argila de Metal spoke with Raluca Anastasescu (Ruka Artisan Jewelry)
How did you find out? metal clay?
Simple, on the Internet, in the rush for information related to the creation of jewelry. I saw how to work with metal clayul in a tutorial on YouTube, and then I obviously looked to see if something like this could not be found in Romania. And that's how I found Corina, the instructor from Artkimia.
Since you work jewelry from metal clay?
I started in 2014, right after the first Metal Clay course. Corina convinced me that I could make silver jewelry, and I needed that encouragement to go to another level (I was already doing leather jewelry and semi-precious stones).
What does a jewel from metal clay?
The joy of giving fruit to the imagination. A few years ago I only dreamed that one day I would be able to create silver jewelry. I find it incredible how versatile it is metal clayul and how many possibilities of expression it offers.
What types of metal clay prefer?
My favorite is Art Clay Silver, but I'm biased because I love silver. I don't rule out bronze from Prometheus or Art Clay Copper either. Those are super cool too, but my love remains silver.
What techniques do you prefer?
I haven't delved into them all yet, but I think what I like most is making my own designs using linocut and combining the techniques of metal clay with those of traditional jewelry. Some extraordinary models can come out! I also really like XNUMXD modeling, but I still have some practice here. I also really enjoyed working with resin and am looking forward to the cloisonné enameling class.
Have you ever had moments of hopelessness? How did you overcome them?
Countless times :).
I think that's the case in any field, whether it's jewelry making, or sports, or anything else that requires a lot of practice and a ton of information to accumulate. I overcame them with perseverance. One of my favorite motivational quotes, which I have in the meantime framed in my home studio - to be a reminder is:
Sometimes you win, sometimes you learn.
What are your sources of inspiration? How would you describe your style?
Hmmm...I don't know where to start first. I resonate extremely with something Tim Burton said:
Anyone with artistic ambitions is always trying to reconnect with the way they saw things as a child
I try as much as I can to reach that child with an extremely rich imagination, because I am convinced that if I could still see the world the way I saw it then, my jewelry would take on a completely different appearance. My aspiration is for my jewelry to be a bit more quirky and different from the classics. I've been asked before what my style is and I hesitated to answer because I had the feeling that everyone expects you as an artist to have a clear line, to know what you want to do and to be able to outline as precisely as possible how show your "way". I don't feel able to do that, I have so many ideas and they are so diverse that I would feel like putting my hand in a centrifuge and trying to get something out. The style of my jewelry can differ from one piece to another, because I am in a constant search and evolution, and when there are so many beautiful things and sources of inspiration in the world, I can't limit my 'play' to something specific 🙂 I'm looking jewelry ideas in almost anything and after all, imagination is the best tool to explore reality. Many times, I find myself looking at a drawing and thinking what it would look like texture for a gem. Nature inspires me a lot, and sometimes my mind wanders to sci-fi and fantasy books or movies and I think about what a piece of jewelry would look like that the respective characters would wear.
I like Norse and Celtic cultures a lot, you probably already noticed that Celtic symbols often appear in my pieces. Ancient cultures are an inexhaustible source of ideas that deserve to be brought to life. Regardless of the style, the jewelry I work with has and will always have a hidden story behind it.
What is your favorite piece that you have made? What difficulties did you encounter?
Very hard to say... I don't have a single favorite piece, something connects me to almost every one of them.
It is definitely among the top ones Dragon Fae, a wing-shaped locket with Labradorite stone. The creating and welding part of the stone box gave me a headache. It was my first time trying to make a silver bezel and weld it to the piece. I succeeded in the end, but that was after several attempts in which I successfully "succeeded" in melting the silver mount 😀
I would say another piece dear to me is the ring I worked on Rubin's wedding of my parents. Technically it didn't pose any problem for me, but the emotions that accompanied the creative process were immense.
You have also produced works from metal clay and other materials ie mixed media?
Yes. I tried silver in combination with resin.
But in second place among the materials I like to work with, after silver, is leather. I can consider it a dream come true, to be able to combine the techniques of working with leather and those of jewelry.
Combine techniques metal clay with those of traditional jewelry?
Yes, sometimes the very model you are going to create requires it, because not all gems can be burned, so you have to mount them using the classic technique. For technical or structural reasons, you also have to apply traditional jewelry techniques, and I learned these in the course Metal Clay Advanced.
What jewelry projects do you have for the future? What else would you like to learn?
I hope to finish two whole jewelry collections by spring, one will be themed, inspired by my other passion for martial arts. And the second collection will be silver and leather jewelry. At the moment, I want to learn more cloisonné enamelling and other types of stone setting.
What do you think you would like to learn more about metal clay?
I'd like to go a little deeper into the misc metal firing and volume jewelry. I would also like to certification courses 1 and 2.
Making jewelry from metal clay is it a way for you to earn enough income for a decent living or is it just a hobby?
At the moment I don't earn enough from jewelry to support myself, but that doesn't mean it can't be done. I plan to develop myself as an artist and I would really like to make a living from it. Let's say I try to guide myself by a famous quote:
Do what you really love and you'll never work a day in your life!
Anastasescu Raluca, 36, Service Delivery Manager and SAP Consultant by day, jeweler by night :))
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Cristina Stoica is the one who makes sure that all the educational articles on the blog are as interesting and captivating as possible for you.