Hello folks here is Karina :) I was supposed to make a blog post about an aspect of my personal life as a volunteer so I decided to share with you an artistic project that is very dear to me and that I have been nurturing alongside my ESC project. These months spent in Lecce inspired me to develop what I had in mind for quite a while. Here’s how the story goes :D I started to explore jewellery art roughly two years ago, experimenting with different materials. For a while it never got further that clumsy experiments I was doing in my free time. Yet I encountered a state of bliss and relief that seemed to stay with me. But as they say, all things come at the right time. The environment in Lecce nurtured my desire to create more. In warm days, the streets of the city are filled with jewellery artists exposing their wonderful works. And passing by, the artist inside of me was tempted. Seeing what the hand can create gave me a strong incentive to pursue my passion. So then I made the small but important next step and went to the ironmonger to buy copper wire of different dimensions, and tried to create whatever came to my mind. It was a pretty playful process and it made me genuinely happy. Then a lot of favorable circumstances appeared in my way, as little signs encouraged me to create further. A friend of mine who was making jewellery and was pretty skilled with wire wrapping showed me some small tricks that were a good starting point. On a warm summer day I exposed some of my jewellery and dream catchers next to his, in Porto Selvaggio (a wonderful seaside area in Salento). This place marked a new beginning. Exposing my stuff was a random experiment, but it gave me a lot of courage. I still remember those days sitting by the sea and creating as the day went by... Later on a couchsurfer came to our home and it turned out she was also a jewellery artist, so we exchanged skills and ideas and exposed jewellery on the street. Another day, a friend randomly brought me some colorful feathers, just in the moment when I was wondering where to find them. Nature also seemed to be in my favor, providing me with materials. I discovered a street full of jacaranda trees, tall trees that have their origin in South American but also grow in some mediterranean ares. And you may wonder what this has to do with jewellery making. It turned out these trees became one of my key resource providers. The seedpods of these trees (that you can see in the picture below), resembling leaves, are resistant enough to make beautiful earrings and pendants. If some time ago finding beautiful materials without a little hole for hanging was an impediment, wire wrapping seemed to solve it. I could wrap copper wire basically around everything that I found in nature and was good for jewellery. So I started to collect resources for my handicraft from wherever I go, inviting the nature into the space. Seeds, stones, seedpods, little pine cones, shells, even cinnamon sticks, all of these are resources that the nature generously offers. In the last months, jewellery making has been a significant part of my daily life. It means to me more than I even thought it would. Creating these objects, feeling the materials taking form in my hands, this brings me in a blissful state of flow, when hours can pass by without me even noticing. To me it’s a meditation, bringing me back to the present moment, teaching me the lesson of patience and attention. As any type of art, it is a way to express what lays inside me. What I create is the reflection of what I feel in the moment, a way to transmit what's meaningful to me. I notice that the surroundings have incredible impact on the way my pieces turn out. Forms are created and transformed in the process, as I am learning to accept the flow of ideas, to not be attached to a defined shape but rather let myself experience. While I discover how the creative process changes for me as I change space and materials I use, I am realizing how much it matters to share the stories of objects with others. Our ancestors living in tribes recognized long ago that objects carry with them the energy of places and people. Jewellery art it as an amazing way to share stories with people, telling them about the creative process and the meaning behind every piece. An interesting conversation can start talking about the meaning of your gemstone. Making jewellery seemed to be the point where my love for nature and urge to create met, a beautiful blend of contemplation, handicrafts and storytelling. Putting all ideas together, my jewellery travelled to the online space. I created an online shop on Etsy - KaraKunda - and an instagram page where I am sharing my creations and the their stories. So if you are curious about natural jewellery and their stories, you can read more about my artistic project on these links above. Just an interesting fun fact about the name of the shop, KaraKunda actually translates as "Kara creates", with the word "kunda" having its origins in Swahili language and Kara being my lifelong nickname. As the name says, I made space for my creative endeavor. In some months I had enough pieces to go to the sustainable Christmas market in Lecce. This was a really meaningful step for me and I am grateful for having this chance. It's heart-warming to see people's curiosity for a piece created by your hand. If you are an artist I know you deeply feel me right now. I could go on forever talking about jewellery. But I prefer to let the objects and their stories do the talk. I am just saying this, if the artist inside of you is screaming, listen to that voice that wants to create. You might not make a fortune in two days, but it will bring a lot of joy to your heart and for sure people will be inspired, too. :)
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