Dubai: First came the disclosure. "Unconventional jewellery can be pretty, but you have to experiment with non-traditional materials," Belgian-Palestinian designer and silversmith Nedda Al Asmar said during her recent jewellery workshop at Tashkeel.
She was wearing a necklace festooned with pretty watermelon-pink bottle caps. The necklace was a gift — a piece she could have easily created herself. "This kind of craftsmanship is ‘up cycling', not recycling. We are turning something that is of little value into something that is aesthetically pleasing," she told Gulf News at the workshop co-hosted by silversmith Gisbert Stach and organised by Nuqat Design Conference 2012.
Al Asmar, a lecturer at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp, Belgium, who has designed for names including Hermès, Puiforcat, Villeroy & Boch, and Demeyere, said this form of experimentation focuses on the meaning of jewellery.
Creativity
"We need to ask, ‘Is jewellery about the value of its material or the ingenuity of the craftsmanship?'" the silversmith whose designs and collaborations have earned her numerous prestigious awards, including the Belgian Designer (2007) and the bi-annual Flemish Cultural Award for Design (2009), said.
At the workshop, a carton filled with empty cans, plastic bottles and used paper was available to the students who attempted to create pieces of jewellery ranging from necklaces to rings and headpieces.
The workshop had one remit — use a non-traditional medium to create a piece of jewellery.
The remit drew Dubai-based jewellery designer Rana Mikdashi whose work is on sale at Art Dubai DXB store, a not-for-profit space designed to showcase limited edition objects. She told Gulf News, "It is a creative approach to forge ahead in my line of work."
Speaking of the appeal for pieces that aren't made out of valuable material, she said she has always been attracted to different materials.
"I liked the idea of using unconventional materials like paper coaster and plastic bottle for a ring I am making. I believe in giving value to craft more than the material itself. Other than this, even in jewellery, the trend is moving towards preserving the environment."
Open to experiments
Fellow participant Hind Al Awadi, a fashion design student who travelled from Bahrain, said she wanted to learn to make jewellery from everyday things.
"People are more open to the idea of wearing unique pieces that don't necessarily use valuable materials. I am trying to make a necklace with plastic cans and thread. It is an amazing experience; I hope to use this learning in my college course."
In the past, Al Asmar has worked with students on new projects as part of her faculty role at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp.
"We once made jewellery from silverware scrap. It was another form of using discarded material."
Of the workshop, she said it was about expressing one's creativity and challenging traditional thinking and approach to jewellery making.
"Jewellery has both emotional and material value, the former is stronger. However, you need jewellery making skills as well. It is important to learn to work with your hands and how to work with different materials. Students could end up with results they never imagined."
