In Amber I Have Seen the Entire Universe. A Conversation with Julia Groos

Anna Sado: Your works are often described as expressive. What does jewelry mean to you?
Julia Groos: I see it as one of the oldest forms of communication – a way to express feelings, to preserve traditions and stories. We wear it closest to our body, which is why it becomes part of our identity. For me, jewelry is a medium through which one can tell stories and spark conversations. It's not just about beauty or decoration. I want my works to raise questions: Who am I, where am I going, what moves me?


AS: You have a long professional journey behind you – you lived in the USA for many years and created completely different jewelry there.
JG: In the USA, I mainly produced jewelry – I had to think about the market, about repeatability, about sales. While this provided stability, it also limited me. I felt that I was losing contact with what is most important in art: freedom. Only my return to Germany in 2015 opened up a new space for me. Instead of calculating, I could experiment – create contemporary, artistic jewelry without rules. That was the breath of fresh air I needed. I began making it alongside caring for my parents – I had time and space to engage with topics that truly interested me. I got to know new materials – because in artistic jewelry, there are no boundaries – and discovered how to give them the right form. And I fell in love with what I do.


AS: Through jewelry, you tell stories and send messages to viewers.
JG: Each of my works is a narrative. They are large, expressive, sometimes difficult to access – but that's precisely what gives them power. Jewelry meets emotion. In my process, it's always about finding the point where beauty begins to say more – about us, about the world, about what hurts and fascinates us. In jewelry, I try to connect my inner reality with the external, to tell about my feelings, thoughts, dreams, but also fears. I enjoy participating in competitions – for me, it's incredibly inspiring that they specify a particular theme. I love this challenge! Sometimes I reflect for a long time to develop a concept, but sometimes it's also a spontaneous inspiration or association that shows me the way. I'm often asked: "Where do your ideas come from?" It's a process – sometimes very quick, sometimes you get stuck for a long time.


AS: How was it with amber? Did the idea to use it come immediately?
JG: I received the golden amber pieces as a prize from the International Amber Association at the International Jewelry Art Competition EMPATHY in Legnica last year. My first contact with amber will remain unforgettable for me. I remember it as if it were yesterday: I took a piece in my hand, cut through it – and suddenly the scent of resin that is over 40 million years old rose up. This experience touched me deeply. I felt like I was touching something larger than myself. When I polished the surface, I saw the entire universe inside: planets, nebulae, star systems. Suddenly this small stone became the cosmos for me.

Julia Groos. Necklace: Saturn I, 2025. Baltic amber, silver, steel, satin cord.



AS: And this experience became the starting point for your collection?
JG: Yes. I began creating objects that reminded of our galaxy. In each piece of amber, I saw new worlds. Then came the idea to tell the story of Earth: from its birth as a glowing ball of mass, through rain and oceans, up to the Eocene period in which amber was formed. It was a journey through time and space, captured in jewelry. Finally, I arrived at the present, which is represented in this amber collection through three works.

One of them is Mickey Mouse – probably everyone knows it. For me, it was originally a positive symbol, a sign of optimism and justice, which today, however, has transformed into a symbol of how the pursuit of power and wealth drives people to manipulation, growing inequalities, and destruction. Thus, Mickey Mouse becomes a symbol in this narrative of what happens in our world: hope that meets greed and injustice.

Julia Groos. Pin: Mickey Mouse, 2025. Baltic amber, silver, steel



AS: The next amber work is based on the motif of the heart. So are you an optimist despite everything?
JG: Yes. I keep encountering wonderful people who help, engage, make a difference. This shows me that we carry within us the capacity for compassion, transformation, and love. If we all worked together with open hearts, we could solve so many problems. I firmly believe in this – that's why my works are not pessimistic, and I don't want the exhibition to end on a depressing note.


AS: Do you believe that artistic jewelry can sensitize people to certain problems?
JG: Yes, I believe that. Everyone who wears jewelry builds their own relationship with it. As an artist, I also try to tell the stories that lie behind it. They are not completely abstract – everyone can interpret them for themselves – but it's important to me that my thoughts and messages are visible and comprehensible.


AS: An example is your Transporter rings, which won you the prize in Legnica.
JG: I carved farm animals in wax and then cast them in gold because they hold great value for me. An animal adorns one ring, while on the other, I built a "transporter" into which one can "load" them, but also "free" them from it. This possibility of liberation was particularly important to me. With such a ring on your finger, you can start a conversation. People first see the rectangular shape of the transporter and ask what it is – then you take it off and in doing so free the golden piglet, the hen, the cow, or the sheep. And you say: "Now let's set the transporter aside. Look at this wonderful animal that also wants to live." I want my works to be an impulse for conversation – about how we live, what we wish for, what we lose. Jewelry can be beautiful, but if it remains only decoration, that's too little for me. I want it to become a question, a provocation, sometimes even a source of unease.


Julia Groos. Rings: Transporter (pig, sheep, cow, chicken), 2018. gold 750, sterling silver. Awarded at Legnica International Jewellery Competition 2024 Award



AS: What fascinates you most about working with amber?
JG:The mystery. Each piece harbors something different. You never know what you'll see until you look inside. It's this constant amazement – the moment of discovery that simultaneously awakens admiration and humility. Amber has taught me patience and mindfulness. I don't treat it like a material that must submit to a form. It itself shows me how it wants to be seen.

Julia Groos. Necklace: Jupiter & Venus, 2024. Baltic amber, silver.
 

About the Interviewee

Julia Groos graduated from the State Vocational School of Glass and Jewelry in Kaufbeuren-Neugablonz (1985) and studied at the Museum School of Fine Arts in Boston (1994–1997). She further honed her skills with, among others, Ronda Coryell and Kimiaki Kageyama. In 2025, she was honored with the Künstlerinnenanerkennung distinction from the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich.
Julia Groos is the laureate of the International Amber Association Award in the Empathy competition held during the Legnica Festival of Silver 2024. As part of the award, the artist received 0.5 kg of Baltic amber and the opportunity to prepare a solo exhibition at the IAA Gallery.

About the author

Anna Sado, journalist and a member of the IAA Board in Poland.