CLUSTER JEWELLERY SHOP

JOURNAL

THE EXHIBITORS

INTERVIEW WITH:
EVA FERNANDEZ

Cluster is pleased to welcome Eva Fernandez, Cluster Artist & Exhibitor, to our journal.

Eva is a mechanical engineer retrained as a jewellery designer living in the UK. She graduated with a Masters of Fine Art in Jewellery Design from Edinburgh University in 2016. Since graduating, she has been developing her practice as a designer/maker in parallel with teaching metalwork and digital design at Nottingham Trent University.

You are a metalwork and digital design teacher at Nottingham University. How do you keep up with your teaching in the current health climate?

It is a really challenging time for hands-on courses like the one I teach. Students are deprived of the workshops to be able to explore ideas, materials and techniques, which can be quite demoralising. It is also affecting the sense of community that happens in studios/workshops. We are trying to use online resources to keep in contact, sharing development and break the isolation. One good thing that can be taken from this situation is the time to develop ideas, reflect and make the most of whatever resources are available to us, such as materials, tools etc.

At the launch of Cluster Crafts | Contemporary Jewellery edition in September 2019, you exhibited astonishing pieces of work, the Quick Air Release series. Tell us about how the idea for this collection came about?

The Quick Air Release series is part of a bigger project titled Price-ous Air. This project took inspiration for the idea of a hypothetical future where air would be turned into a commodity. I strong feelings about many aspects of the current economical system (you could extend to socio-political even) in which natural resources are being massacred, exhausted and expropriated. This project was trying to portray that ‘hypothetical’ (or not so hypothetical) story.

Do you think jewellery makers are underrepresented in the UK?

I don’t think that jewellery in general is underrepresented. There are lots of platforms for selling handmade jewellery from galleries, shops and online. However, I think that experimental jewellery, in terms of challenging materials, ideas or formats, is underrepresented. However, in recent years I have seen changes to this with new platforms coming up with challenging ethos.

What are the 3 main professional advices you can give to young jewellery makers?

Don’t put too much pressure on yourself or being too critical, enjoy the journey, continue making and things will fall into place. Set yourself a weekly routine, short term goals and long term goals. There are some opportunities out there to help with your professional practice and starting a business. It is worth to look into them.

What is the future of contemporary jewellery?

Sustainability and social responsibility are already having a strong influence in the making in terms of processes and materials and I think we should expect to see more changes in this direction. I also think that the whole craft market could expand with more people appreciating the value that comes with hand crafted objects.

How can you describe the contemporary jewellery market in the UK?

I feel that it is relatively safe. I feel that thought provoking work normally find more acceptance or recognition outside UK. I find that Europe, and in particular Germany are more receptive to jewellery at the cutting edge.


Based on your experience, which has been the best way to sell your jewellery?

Any particular platform you can recommend? Personally, I have found it very useful to have a profile in the Crafts Council Directory of makers, not from the point of view of selling, but from the point of view of being approached for opportunities. As a graduate, I found New Designers the place to be.

In your opinion, how curators/sellers can elevate and further support the contemporary jewellery scene in the UK?

Initiates that embrace more challenging jewellery forms would help. Initiatives that include international artists and facilitate networking will also help. I have always liked the idea of jewellery being showcased alongside other contemporary artefacts so a more varied audience can be reached. For me Collect London is a great example of this.

Are you working on anything new at the moment? What should we expect from Eva Fernandez this year?

Recently, I have been testing ideas with different materials. However, at the minute the material testing has come to a halt. In the current circumstances, it is difficult to make concrete plans for the rest of the year.