Every Day I Love the World of Jewelry More Than Yesterday. Interview with Yolanda Zheng by Klimt02

Tell us about your background. What were your first influences to be creative and become an artist and what has drawn you to contemporary jewelry?
I was born in an ordinary family. I learned Chinese painting when I was young. When I was in high school, my art teacher discovered my talent and passion for fashion by chance. From then on, I began to be interested in fashion, especially jewelry. I majored in architectural design in my BA, but I found that the building was too big and I could not control all the factors after I finished the design. I found that jewelry is a miniature version of architecture /sculpture, I can completely implement the design I want, so I have a deep love for jewelry.
 

How important is networking for you in your professional practice and what are your preferred tools for this?
Social networking? To be honest, I'm not very sociable, I spend most of my time with myself, I prefer to indulge in the creative and handmade feeling, I don't have a favorite tool.


What are your general thoughts on the contemporary jewelry world, (education, market, development...), where do you see chances, and where are dead ends?
I am fully confident in the jewelry industry because more and more people begin to know about this industry, more and more people learn jewelry-related knowledge. And the contemporary jewelry market is also being opened up a little bit, people started to accept all kinds of jewelry materials, not just the traditional precious metal jewelry. These things are very encouraging and give me confidence in the future of the industry.
Of course, there are many difficulties, in the development of new routes will encounter many difficulties, such as how to make a variety of non-valuable materials to be accepted by more people, value and jewelry connection, and so on are one of the problems to be solved.


Thinking about your career, what role do technology and the digital play in your artistic development & communication?
Although I like traditional crafts very much, new technologies are indispensable in the current jewelry industry. In particular, there are many three-dimensional expressions in my works, and new technologies such as 3D scanning and printing are faster and more convenient. In addition, new technology also provides more possibilities for me to communicate with the audience.

 
How has your work changed over the past few years and what are you excited about these days?
As a matter of fact, I have not been in the jewelry industry for a long time. I am very interested in all kinds of traditional materials and crafts. I can do most kinds of traditional crafts by hand, including stone setting, wax carving, filigree, and so on. As my understanding of art matures, my work grows more and more, and the crazier I express my feelings, the more I understand the joy of creation. Every day I love the world of jewelry more than yesterday, and I will never stop creating. In this age, more and more people are learning about art, jewelry, and contemporary jewelry, which makes me excited because it represents the progress of the whole industry.