segunda-feira, 30 de março de 2009
sábado, 28 de março de 2009
Catarina Silva
To think that the delicate silver jewellery of Catarina Silva are born in a workbench, with instruments as rough as welding-blowpipes, flexible shafts, pliers and saws, seems to make no sense. But it’s here, in an atelier in Campo de Ourique, that this girl of 26 years old, from Lisbon, creates pins, necklaces, rings and other pieces of jewellery. During the last days, she has been casting for straight hours, one by one, little metal hoops, to make a filigree pin. As a matter of fact, these are the works that give her more pleasure. “It takes months to do it, but I feel more attached to the piece, I give more of myself, as much as in time as in soul.
For eight years that Catarina spends her days between jewels. When she quitted high school and decided to enroll in the jewellery course of Ar.Co – Centre of Art & Visual Communication, she couldn’t imagine that her choice would be so right. “I fell in love instantly”, she states, reminding the “jewellery marathons” that she did with her colleagues, throughout the nights, until the school closed, or, in the holydays, when they asked for the key, so that they could get in. Since the first piece that she did – “I sawed a mushroom” – and the first jewel – “a horrible necklace that, at the time, I thought was wonderful, composed of metal structure that was lined with a pink and white wool with brilliant and a thing to put the hand and make a fuss over – she defined which material she prefers to work. “I like to experiment several, but I always come back to the metal. It relaxes me to work it. If I had more money I would use gold, thus, I use silver”, she states, laughing.
The inspiration can come to her from everywhere. From the workshops that she attends, to the books that she devours or the exhibitions that she visits – like “Masks of Asia” in the Oriente Museum, that has left her full of ideas. Whatever the source is, Catarina acknowledges that her jewels have a common language, which she brought from the Portuguese and Indian traditional jewellery.
Another characteristic of her jewels is their lightness. “I don’t like heavy works, with too much information”. And if she finds herself in the middle of a piece that isn’t becoming like she imagined, she guarantees that she doesn’t even finishes the work. “Since the metal has the good capabability of being melted, there’s no problem”, she notes with fun. It’s also because of this, that she prefers to launch herself in the workbench and make a model, instead of drawing first in the paper.
Her most emblematic jewels are probably the ones that she created in the final individual project of Ar.Co, in which she worked about her life course. Catarina created pieces inspired by the clock’s counters, as symbols of time, and by compass roses, as metaphor of space. Some of them are displayed for selling in a German gallery, where she exhibited her work some years ago. In Lisbon, we can find her jewels in Tereza Seabra Gallery, in Reverso Gallery and, sometimes, in Nininha Guimarães Atelier.
Catarina learned the art of making jewels at Ar.co, but it was at Reverso, where she was for two years, that she learned how to work “good and fast” and to “talk with the people to understand what they like” – two fundamental characteristic of a good jeweller, she considers.
But not everything glows like gold or silver in this story. Catarina knows that, despite the fact that people are paying more attention to author’s jewellery in Portugal, traditional jewels of the jewellery stores are still more valued – or because a question of money, there is still a lot of investment in this kind of jewellery. Therefore, the bills at the end of the month are mostly paid with the jewellery classes, which she gives to anyone who wants to make a hobby out of that, or with the guided tours that she makes at the Marquês da Fronteira Palace. But, truly, these are not enough reasons of complaint for who is just 26 years old.
In Visão Estilo+Design Autumn/Winter 2008, by Alexandra Correia and Gabriela Lourenço, photography by António Nascimento.
For eight years that Catarina spends her days between jewels. When she quitted high school and decided to enroll in the jewellery course of Ar.Co – Centre of Art & Visual Communication, she couldn’t imagine that her choice would be so right. “I fell in love instantly”, she states, reminding the “jewellery marathons” that she did with her colleagues, throughout the nights, until the school closed, or, in the holydays, when they asked for the key, so that they could get in. Since the first piece that she did – “I sawed a mushroom” – and the first jewel – “a horrible necklace that, at the time, I thought was wonderful, composed of metal structure that was lined with a pink and white wool with brilliant and a thing to put the hand and make a fuss over – she defined which material she prefers to work. “I like to experiment several, but I always come back to the metal. It relaxes me to work it. If I had more money I would use gold, thus, I use silver”, she states, laughing.
The inspiration can come to her from everywhere. From the workshops that she attends, to the books that she devours or the exhibitions that she visits – like “Masks of Asia” in the Oriente Museum, that has left her full of ideas. Whatever the source is, Catarina acknowledges that her jewels have a common language, which she brought from the Portuguese and Indian traditional jewellery.
Another characteristic of her jewels is their lightness. “I don’t like heavy works, with too much information”. And if she finds herself in the middle of a piece that isn’t becoming like she imagined, she guarantees that she doesn’t even finishes the work. “Since the metal has the good capabability of being melted, there’s no problem”, she notes with fun. It’s also because of this, that she prefers to launch herself in the workbench and make a model, instead of drawing first in the paper.
Her most emblematic jewels are probably the ones that she created in the final individual project of Ar.Co, in which she worked about her life course. Catarina created pieces inspired by the clock’s counters, as symbols of time, and by compass roses, as metaphor of space. Some of them are displayed for selling in a German gallery, where she exhibited her work some years ago. In Lisbon, we can find her jewels in Tereza Seabra Gallery, in Reverso Gallery and, sometimes, in Nininha Guimarães Atelier.
Catarina learned the art of making jewels at Ar.co, but it was at Reverso, where she was for two years, that she learned how to work “good and fast” and to “talk with the people to understand what they like” – two fundamental characteristic of a good jeweller, she considers.
But not everything glows like gold or silver in this story. Catarina knows that, despite the fact that people are paying more attention to author’s jewellery in Portugal, traditional jewels of the jewellery stores are still more valued – or because a question of money, there is still a lot of investment in this kind of jewellery. Therefore, the bills at the end of the month are mostly paid with the jewellery classes, which she gives to anyone who wants to make a hobby out of that, or with the guided tours that she makes at the Marquês da Fronteira Palace. But, truly, these are not enough reasons of complaint for who is just 26 years old.
In Visão Estilo+Design Autumn/Winter 2008, by Alexandra Correia and Gabriela Lourenço, photography by António Nascimento.
terça-feira, 10 de março de 2009
segunda-feira, 9 de março de 2009
domingo, 8 de março de 2009
Entrevista para a revista Visão Estilo+Design
Catarina
Pensar que as delicadas jóias em prata de Catarina Silva nascem numa bancada, com instrumentos tão brutos como maçaricos de fundição, motores de bicha, alicates e serras parece não fazer sentido. Mas é aqui, num ateliê em Campo de Ourique, que esta lisboeta, de 26 anos, cria alfinetes, colares, anéis e outras peças de joalharia. Nos últimos dias, tem passado horas a fio a soldar, uma a uma, argolinha a argolinha, para fazer um alfinete de filigrana. São estes trabalhos, aliás, que mais prazer lhe dão. "Demora meses a fazer, mas sinto-me mais ligada à peça, dou mais de mim, tanto em tempo como em alma".
Há oito anos que Catarina passa os dias entre jóias. Quando abandonou o ensino secundário e decidiu inscrever-se no Ar.Co - Centro de Artes & Comunicação Visual nem imaginava que a escolha seria tão certeira. "Apaixonei-me logo", afirma, recordando as "maratonas de joalharia" que fazia com os colegas, noite dentro, até a escola fechar, ou, aos feriados, quando pediam a chave para poderem entrar. Desde a primeira peça que fez - "serrei um cogumelo" - e da primeira jóia - "um colar horrível que, na altura, achava fantástico, com uma estrutura de metal forrada a lã cor-de-rosa e branca com brilhantes e uma coisa para enfiar a mão e dar festinhas" - defeniu o material que prefere trabalhar. "Gosto de experimentar vários, mas regresso sempre ao metal. Relaxa-me trabalhá-lo. Se tivesse mais dinheiro, usava o ouro, assim,uso a prata, diz, a rir.
A inspiração pode vir-lhe de todo o lado. Desde os workshops, que frequenta, aos livros que devora ou às exposições que vai ver - como a das Máscaras da Ásia, patente no Museu do Oriente e que a deixou cheia de ideias. Seja qual for a fonte, Catarina reconhece que as suas jóias têm uma linguagem comum, que foi buscar à joalharia tradicional portuguesa e à indiana. Basta ver um dos seus alfinetes de cobre banhado a ouro e pintado de vermelho ou o seu pin de prata pintada da mesma cor para reconhecer estas influências. "Até são duas joalharias bem semelhantes", defende.
Outra característica das suas jóias é a leveza. "Não gosto de trabalhos pesados, com demasiada informação." E se se encontra a meio de uma peça que não está a ficar como tinha imaginado, garante que nem a acaba. "Como o metal tem esssa coisa boa de se poder derreter, não há problema", nota, divertida. É também por isso que prefere atirar-se para a bancada e fazer uma maqueta em vez de desenhar antes no papel.
As suas jóias mais emblemáticas são provavelmente as que criou no projecto individual de final de curso, em que trabalhou sobre o seu percurso de vida. Criou peças inspiradas nos ponteiros de relógios, como símbolo do tempo, e em rosas-dos-ventos, como metáfora do espaço. Algumas delas estão à venda numa galeria alemã, onde expôs o seu trabalho há uns anos. Já em Lisboa, podem encontrar-se peças suas na Galeria Tereza Seabra, na Galeria Reverso e , por vezes, no Atelier Nininha Guimarães.
A arte de fazer jóias ganhou-a no Ar.Co, mas foi na Reverso, onde esteve dois anos, que aprendeu a trabalhar "rápido e bem" e a "falar com as pessoas, para perceber o que gostam" - duas características fundamentais de uma boa joalheira, considera.
Mas nem tudo brilha como o ouro e a prata nesta história. Catarina sabe que, apesar de, em Portugal, as pessoas estarem mais atentas à joalharia de autor, se continua a dar mais valor às jóias tradicionais das ourivesarias - ou então, por uma questão de dinheiro, ainda se investe muito em bijuteria. Por isso, as contas do fim do mês são pagas sobretudo com aulas de joalharia, que dá a quem queira fazer disso um hobby ou com visitas guiadas que faz no Palácio Marquês de Fronteira. Mas, na verdade, estas não chegam a ser razões de queixa para quem tem apenas 26 anos.
In Visão Estilo+Design Outono/Inverno 2008, por Alexandra Correia e Gabriela Lourenço, fotografia de António Nascimento.
"Riagra" - impulsionador de gargalhadas
Concebido para um futuro próximo ou longínquo em que todas as acções do homem como comer, beber, dormir ou acordar serão impulsionadas por químicos.
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