I attended the "Goldschmiedeschule" (School for Goldsmithing) in Pforzheim, West-Germany. After two years of study there and a one year apprenticeship with a commercial firm, I took a state exam which certified me as a goldsmith. After that I worked and studied with Professor Klaus Ullrich, one of Germany's leading jewelry artists, for one year. I was strongly influenced by his work, both in design and technique. Other influences on my sense of design have been: the Bauhaus movement and Japanese design, which both share a strong sense of simplicity. I now create jewelry from unexpected combinations of precious and non-precious materials in forms well beyond traditional jewelry concepts. My work is contemporary, geometric and simple in style and feeling. I am a purist when it comes to the choice of my materials. I use high karat gold alloys (which I make myself), platinum, silver and fine gems, but also unconventional materials like found objects such as discarded CO2 cartridges or pachinko balls, stainless or rusted steel and plywood. My work is hand-fabricated. I usually combine two or three different materials to create tension between them and their colors, in my designs. I like to integrate design and technique, especially when I use rivets. They are not only functional in that they often actually hold the pieces together, but have also become an important visual design element. They are often slightly irregular in shape and location which contrasts with the strong geometry of the rest of the designs. In 1989 I started a project that I have titled "100 Pins". This is a work in progress, in which the basic design principle is a horizontal line of 25 mm (1 inch) in length in a field of 50 x 50 mm (2 x 2 inches). The goal is that all 100 pins will have these parameters in common. Other design elements are added, like using different materials, shapes, dimensions (i.e. two dimensional - three dimensional), etcetera to explore different ideas and possibilities. To date I have completed 29 pins. In one of my latest projects I explore the arrival of the "digital age". I have created a number of brooches using computer hard disks, audio compact discs and video discs, which all store information digitally, to express my connection with the world of today. I use 2D and 3D computer programs to work out the designs of my work. Abrasha, April 1999 |
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