Sunday, March 21, 2010

The beginning of an envious experience

There are times when after beginning a jewellery project — a ring, for example — I find it taking on a form of its own choosing. The ring I had carefully designed urges me to bring it to life as a pendant. The earrings I had planned soon morph into a ring, while the cufflinks I had imagined, unhappy at the prospect of spending quiet and subtle lives at the end of a sleeve, beg me to let them flirt, prominently dangled from an earlobe instead.

And so it is with life. When I joined the Jewel Envy studio back in October, I had no firm idea of what I would be getting myself into. I had recently returned to Canada after spending a couple of years taking an intensive jewellery-making course in my native Korea. Initially I thought that I would simply rent a bench in Toronto and work very much alone. Little did I realize that in finding Jewel Envy I had stumbled upon a highly creative and supportive setting in which I would be able to learn and grow as a jeweller. Now that I’m here, I’m comfortable. I can ask questions about certain techniques and there is always someone who knows the answer. We collaborate and plan ways of promoting our work as a group. Yes, I rent a bench, but at the same time, I feel that this is MY studio. It’s hard to believe, but I’ve already been part of Jewel Envy for six months. I have the feeling that the next six months are going to be even more creative and fulfilling than the first six!

Young Kyoung Ko

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