Walking the Gray Area

Continue reading Introduction

I’m just back from amazing Tokyo where I gave a lecture and hold an exhibition at Gallery Deux Poissons. I have a little jetlag, sitting in my garden under the sun and checking my email…

I looked on klimt to know more about your work and I love the ring with the origami paper. I hope we can inspire each other! The colour white we have already in common.

I will be in Spain in September but near Malaga, that’s far away from Barcelona….

but lets start contacting on the blog.

Warm regards of Amsterdam,

Susanne

 

Hola a Todos!!!

Hello everyone !!!!!

Hello Susanne!!!!!!I’m late!!!! I was on vacations until the last Friday, and then I had urgent work in the studio,

I’m sorry,  now I am here ready to work! and start this project so cool .!!!!

I’m just trying to figure it out how the blog works

oxoxox

sam

Hello Susanne

I’m here again, I apologize for the late response but I was updating some of my work.

Immigration is such a complex subject to refer to because to define it, one has to touch so many aspects and connotations of the word, that many times the context of  the word can also drive you to contradictions and confusions. Let me start the topic of immigration by talking about my own family and my circle of friends. As you can realize, my sisters and I are the result of migration and we continue to contribute to phenomenon.

I have already been living in Barcelona for a little over ten years. I came as a tourist but little by little my   visit has taken more of a permanent status. While in Caracas I graduated as an architect and I expanded my knowledge my acquiring a graduate degree in Introduction to museum studies. After this, I arrived in Barcelona and I completed a  masters on ephemeral architecture. Simultaneously to all this, I have been taking courses in jewelry and working on it parallel to my work as an architect.

Dear Samantha,

Sometimes I’m using a new environment especially to reach a new entrance for a series of work. One example: the white trees in Andalusia gave me the urge to transform this beautiful, kind of sterile image in jewels. During one year I worked in a former brothel, which inspired me to create a new collection of rings, the Red-light collection.

I live in Amsterdam for eighteen years. I started my study in Switzerland and finished it in the Netherlands. I came as a tourist too, like you. I wanted to hold my stage in Amsterdam because the climate for Art in this town felt good to me.

It was a culture shock because even only one thousand kilometres to the North everything is different. I had to learn a new language, which is always amazing. I lived in a different way than before. It’s not just about another country but also another way of living as a starter. I’m sure you recognize one or another.

Now I’m sure that I found a new home. I started a family. I still travel a lot for work and for pleasure. Lots of places are inspiring. Direct or indirect. But to create, a quiet period is needed after all the impressions and restlessness.

Of course, immigration changes life and point of views enormously. Has your work or the vision about what you like to do changed since you have been settled in Barcelona?

It would be nice if we could find a place where we both where once in our life, a place that left an impression. We could discuss about this place and try to come to a start in this project.

What do you think?

Warm regards from rainy Amsterdam,

Susanne

AND

Something I always wanted to know from migrants: Do you feel sometimes like I do, a kind of homesickness, dispite that you are very happy in the “new” Country? A kind of strange sentiment about your old customs, language, food, music or humor? I always was very critic about Switzerland during my life there. Now it turned out that I feel more patriotic than I ever expected.

. . .“Something I always wanted to know from migrants: Do you feel sometimes like I do, a

kind of homesickness, despite that you are very happy in the “new” Country? A kind of strange sentiment about your old customs, language, food, music or humor? I always

was very critic about Switzerland during my life there. Now it turned out that I feel

more patriotic than I ever expected.”. . .

After rereading this fragment that you had sent me previously, I feel that those sentiments take place frequently to those that live their “home” behind. While we were living there, we saw issues and problems with the place, but then, when we are far, we realize that the issues were not as bad as they seemed or that we have changed our value system.

Many of my immigrants friends feel the same way.

When I first arrived here in Barcelona, every time I heard someone speaking with a Venezuelan accent, I would feel this inner motivation to talk to them or at the very least I would hear every word they said until I couldn’t hear them anymore. I used to be bothered by this when I lived in Venezuela.

Now I value the simple things and some not so simples is that before they were not important because I always had them. Such things are for example a tree shadow, flowers, or my pets.

I see that you have visited Andalucia this summer. I went to the south as well and one of my favorites images is that of the olive trees. How they are planted on the mountains and as they follow lines it all seems like a magnificent natural hairdo. I was astonished by the patterns and textures created It looked like a sea of olive trees navigating on the valleys and hills.

Hola Susanne!

I have read your message and I must say that ever since this project started, not only I have not stopped thinking about immigration but I also find immigration everywhere in my life. At the end of the day it all starts with the fact that I live in a foreign city.

Undoubtedly it is an experience that enriches the one that lives through it leads you to value things that were meaningless before and vice versa. It is one of the greatest life experiences.

I have always believed that at least half of our social conflicts and wars will not exists if everyone were given the opportunity to experience living elsewhere. Being a foreigner has changed my life.

This is an extensive subject, one way to address it is to separate it by chapters or by creating a journal with our daily impressions, memories, thoughts, visions, etc. This way, we can have a starting point and continue the journey of working together. I have been thinking that we could generate a list of places we both know and have visited and continue on that line of thought.

I have so much to say and share that makes it hard to find a beginning so I will be sending photographs, and various articles which will allow us to start forming our mosaic.

To start this mosaic, I will begin to share the story of a necklace I was asked to create as an exercise during my first jewelry course in Barcelona. The task was to create three necklace, they should represent my past, my present and my future. For the FUTURE (please find the attached image) necklace I understood that life can take many different directions so I used the analogy of a round about highway.

The PRESENT necklace is in constant development so the task was incomplete.

Then showing he PAST necklace was to answer questions about who I really was, what I have done with my life, where I was from, what I have studied, etc. And then, the paths starting showing up, similar to the concept of the future (different roads to take): and I thought the past was different points in my life. Thus, I made a diagram to represent my paths during specific stages in my life. One of the stages I represented was my childhood, when I was a girl. The path was the commute paths between home and my school, or to swimming lessons, or to grandma’s, etc. There were also other paths such as when I went to college or my vacations. That is how I arrived to the necklace I show you next. My past is the collection of paths through different places. Places that provided me with life experiences and with the understanding that the journey from place to place has made an immigrant of me.

“I have been thinking that we could generate a list of places we both know and have visited and continue on that line of thought…”

Dear Samantha

I’m very happy to hear that you understand my situation, my feelings, and my questions and that we have it in common.

Nevertheless I think that you are working and thinking very different than I am. I see that you like diagrams; you’re more concrete than I am. I like the necklace idea. I can see your architectural qualities. However I start new pieces less rational, but need also a structure. Perhaps I can explain my decisions for a certain form less precisely, it’s coming up more like an image to me, more instinctive.

I will try to write down all places I visited. All cities.

Than we can add small comments, seeing if we got a discussion. Perhaps the last place visited has left the biggest impression? Or perhaps a certain experience has left a color or odor.

If I’m honest I already have a piece of jewelry in my mind for this project. It came up after I wrote on the blog about homesickness.

It’s an oleander flower upside-down. It represents my feelings about the sadness of the home left behind, the critic I have about it but on the same time the sweet memory of it and the happy feeling about my new country. It represents myself, covering my real identity to unknown people, protecting my inside, and floating on endless water.

A, Norway (end of the world, big impression, inspiring)

Amsterdam (where I live since 18 years, love, son, work, career, home, inspiration for jewelry)

Antwerp (clothes, love, food)

Barcelona (visited 3 times, warm, swimming pool, ramblas, cava, food, love, shoes etc.)

Bellinzona (climbing, under the stars in the night, inspiration for the rest of my life, stones)

Bern (I have a hate/love feeling about it, because of a love story)

Berlin (Twice, before and after the wall was broken down, love it, feeling free, warmth, kindness, big, freedom)

Bruges Belgium (Jacques Brel)

Brussels (several times, food)

Bulle (in the mountains in Switzerland, lived for one year, a long time ago, youth, car, love, adult, work)

Comares/Andalucia (long, relaxing holiday, Flamenco dance and music, inspiration for collection “Frozen” about white and nature, felt in love with a dog…)

Cologne (Food, Books)

Granada (lost)

Edinburgh, rest of Scotland (inspiration, relaxing, music, love)

Florence (architecture, colors)

Gent (Jacques Brel)

Geneva (visited twice, cold impression)

Cordoba (inspiration mesquita, food, wine)

Istanbul (twice, see, father, first oyster, odor)

Lausanne (lived one year, cold, study, lake)

London (several times, cold, Indian, bad sleep, stress)

Lucerne (grandparents, carnival, Rigi mountain, childhood)

Luxembourg (twice for exhibition, food, museum)

Malaga (Arena, boring, tapas)

Milano (visited several times, love it, food, cold)

Montreux (jazz festival, lake, love)

Munich (several times, grand parents, first beer, old, schmuck, sadness)

Paris (several times, inspiration, love to come again and again, love, culture, gloves, photography)

Roma (cars, tradition, food, did’nt like it)

Rotterdam (could live there)

Selcuk Turkey (worked and lived one month, made a collection, loved it, odor, sound, garden, cats)

Siena (place, food)

St. Petersburg (3 weeks, worked as assistant for my partner a photographer, loved it but was happy to go home, said, new, strange, inspiration, bridges)

Torino (once, love, night, lights, tunnel)

Trondheim Norway (to short)

Tokyo (twice for exhibitions, cried when left, food, work, people, material, would like to go back for longer!)

Venice (visited twice, cold, boring, yes..)

Vienna (long ago, didn’ love it)

Zurich (born, grow up, my dialect, love, adventure, art academy, lake, snow, ski, mountain in summer, odor, climbing, films, books, childhood etc.)

While I’m writing all the cities down I think this is boring…

I stop, what sense does it makes?

There are so many more without significance.

There are only few, which inspired my work directly…In fact its nature and Amsterdam who is inspiring…Phfuahh

Samantha,

I cannot wait seeing your list, finding some in common!

Good night.

My last 3 rings for the Redlight collection

Hello Samantha,

How are you? Hereby my impression from my last visit in Barcelona…a few years ago; your city in all her beauty!

And a cliché from my “new” country

Are you thinking about  jewellery? I’m playing with wax and epoxy.

Hope to hear from you soon!

Lieve groet uit Amsterdam

Hola Sussane!!

Everyday I try to read the blog and I have to confess that I get nervous at times when I try to process all of the information I read, but anyways…

I pay lots of attention to your writings and I think about them a lot. First of all, I have a lot of different ways to work and approach a piece of jewelry that I’m creating, sometimes the pieces are well structured, such as the necklace that we already talked about, one can really perceive my architectural background and the school of thought that influenced me while developing that piece. But other times, it is purely about feelings, stories, dreams that belonged to me or others. I understand how you work at times and I would love to know more, you know? I had seen your work prior to meeting you and when I saw some of your work; it reminded me of the pieces I had seen of you to perfection. I find your work very strong and subtle at the same time, I hope one day my pieces can achieve the subtleness I see in your work.

You have been in so many places around the world!!!!!

I have not been in as many places as you have, but the one thing I can share is that Barcelona has been the place where I have spent the most time and were my feelings have evolved and changed the most. This is the place that has made understand what an outsider feels like, what being an immigrant really means.

This is the list of the places I have been.

I was born and raised in Caracas. Caracas is colors, the tropic, diverse vegetation and exotic fruits!! MY HOME!!! At the end of the day, this is home base.

Mexico short trip during my childhood, I have a few images in my brain as a result of this trip.

New York is a city in constant transformation. One can reinvent that place every time is visited (my sister and my nephew live there)

I have visited other places in the US and Canada. I have been in Boston, Washington, Miami, Montreal, and Chicago. I spent six months in Chicago which I used to enjoy the city’s architecture and urban design.

In Europe I have traveled as a tourist and visited places such as London, Madrid, Bilbao, Granada, Zaragoza, Toledo, and San Sebastian amongst others. I have also been to Paris, Roma, Milano, and Parma. I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to work in Parma, which was the city I loved the most while being in Italy, it is such a gorgeous and elegant city. Athens and the Greek islands are very familiar and special to my heart because a very good friend of mine resides there. Istanbul!! I would go back there if I had the time to let the city take me without the constraints of being a tourist.  Geneva, Amsterdam, and Toulouse, amongst others that I can’t reacall at the moment.

Ahhh and there will always be a special place in my heart for a small Caribbean island named Aruba which will always bring me peace, that was my family and some of my closest friends vacation place during my teenage years.

I read how your piece came about and it summarizes all the feelings inspired by a place. I like that!

I have an idea, but it is still without any form, and what I want to express is a particular feeling that sometimes I get and is that of “no place at all”. It is complicated it is like feeling that you belong no where but yet all those places make you who you are. I intent to deepen my thoughts on this on future writings.

I have been experimenting with resins and silicone molds. Recently though, I am working with wax for special orders from clients.

Hola Sussane!!

Everyday I try to read the blog and I have to confess that I get nervous at times when I try to process all of the information I read, but anyways…

I pay lots of attention to your writings and I think about them a lot. First of all, I have a lot of different ways to work and approach a piece of jewelry that I’m creating, sometimes the pieces are well structured, such as the necklace that we already talked about, one can really perceive my architectural background and the school of thought that influenced me while developing that piece. But other times, it is purely about feelings, stories, dreams that belonged to me or others. I understand how you work at times and I would love to know more, you know? I had seen your work prior to meeting you and when I saw some of your work; it reminded me of the pieces I had seen of you to perfection. I find your work very strong and subtle at the same time, I hope one day my pieces can achieve the subtleness I see in your work.

You have been in so many places around the world!!!!!

I have not been in as many places as you have, but the one thing I can share is that Barcelona has been the place where I have spent the most time and were my feelings have evolved and changed the most. This is the place that has made understand what an outsider feels like, what being an immigrant really means.

This is the list of the places I have been.

I was born and raised in Caracas. Caracas is colors, the tropic, diverse vegetation and exotic fruits!! MY HOME!!! At the end of the day, this is home base.

Mexico short trip during my childhood, I have a few images in my brain as a result of this trip.

New York is a city in constant transformation. One can reinvent that place every time is visited (my sister and my nephew live there)

I have visited other places in the US and Canada. I have been in Boston, Washington, Miami, Montreal, and Chicago. I spent six months in Chicago which I used to enjoy the city’s architecture and urban design.

In Europe I have traveled as a tourist and visited places such as London, Madrid, Bilbao, Granada, Zaragoza, Toledo, and San Sebastian amongst others. I have also been to Paris, Roma, Milano, and Parma. I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to work in Parma, which was the city I loved the most while being in Italy, it is such a gorgeous and elegant city. Athens and the Greek islands are very familiar and special to my heart because a very good friend of mine resides there. Istanbul!! I would go back there if I had the time to let the city take me without the constraints of being a tourist.  Geneva, Amsterdam, and Toulouse, amongst others that I can’t reacall at the moment.

Ahhh and there will always be a special place in my heart for a small Caribbean island named Aruba which will always bring me peace, that was my family and some of my closest friends vacation place during my teenage years.

I read how your piece came about and it summarizes all the feelings inspired by a place. I like that!

I have an idea, but it is still without any form, and what I want to express is a particular feeling that sometimes I get and is that of “no place at all”. It is complicated it is like feeling that you belong no where but yet all those places make you who you are. I intent to deepen my thoughts on this on future writings.

Ahhh!!!I have been experimenting with resins and silicone molds. Recently though, I am working with wax for special orders from clients.

Regards

Sam

Dear Sam,

Parma… I visited a few times in my youth. My parents loved to travel each may to Italy visiting all roman places, and my sister and I had to join each year. At that time I was a bit bored about this holidays but while I look back, it was very good for my raising process. I have seen ALL  churches in Italy…. Parma left a memory. I bought a perfume, violet. Viola.

Perhaps my jewelry/flower must have this colour, LILA

Italy left a big memory. Nevertheless I went almost never back. Amsterdam is far away. When I lived in Switzerland it was so easy to go there.

Do you have family in Caracas? Are you going visiting them? It must be great to be born in such an exotic land!!!!

WAX its nice to sculpt. I use it for the motherform in casting.

I’m so curious what you are making, please send me some images if you have some prototypes, try outs.

CIAO,

until a next time, have to have dinner now ))

Piero della Francesca

Hi Susanne!!
Today I have a firm promise to send you this mail at the end of the day!
Believe it or not think a lot about you and this project.
Much time has passed since my last piece of writing.
I think I have not talked much about me, the truth is I’ve been very lucky with the country family in which I was born. Iit is all very exotic and tropical.
I had not realized it until I returned to Venezuela after being away for a long time here in Spain and every time I visit I feel a bigger difference and contrast between the two countries.
This past December I went to see my family, especially my mom and I kept thinking about some of your writings in which you talked about a particular flower. I have searched for this flower on the internet and I sent you pictures for you to confirm if I am correct.

(This flower exists not only in Venezuela but also here in Spain. I am trying to find we call it depending on the country. It has always interested me to see how we each place has different names for the same “thing”. I love knowing the different names and research to see if there is any history behind their names!

My mother lives in a house with a nice tropical garden and she is a plant and flower lover. I spent time watching every one of them and wanted to find one that really remind me of my home. Despite having many very striking and exotic plants such as orchids or bromeliads, I identified home with a wild bush that grows on the wall of my house. I do not even know its name but I have only seen it at my mother’s house, so when I see him I think of home.
I have taken photos and I will send them to you and believe it or not I brought you one of these flower (in spite of customs and controls). Could I have your address for me to try to mail it to you?
At the moment I am sending you pictures it would be interesting to see if we can come up with a jewelry piece together?

home flower

home flower 2

Hola Susanne!!!!

Hoy tengo la firme promesa de enviarte este mail hoy.!!!

Aunque no lo creas pienso mucho en ti y en el proyecto.

Ha pasado mucho tiempo desde mi ultimo escrito.

Creo que no te he hablado mucho de mi, la verdad es que he tenido mucha suerte con el pais en el que naci y mi familia es cierto todo es muy exotico y tropical

Yo no me habia dado cuenta de ello hasta que volvi a Venezuela  despues de estar un largo tiempo aquí en España y cada vez que voy siento una mayor diferencia y contraste entre los dos paises.

Este pasado diciembre fui a ver a mi familia y en especial a mi mama y me quede con unos de tus escritos donde hablabas de una flor esta flor la he buscado por internet y te envio imágenes para confirmar que sea la misma.

“If I’m honest I already have a piece of jewelry in my mind for this project. It came up after I wrote on the blog about homesickness.

It’s an oleander flower upside-down. It represents my feelings about the sadness of the home left behind, the critic I have about it but on the same time the sweet memory of it and the happy feeling about my new country. It represents myself, covering my real identity to unknown people, protecting my inside, and floating on endless water.”

(Esta flor también la hay en venezuela y aquí en españa trato de buscar los nombres para comprobar como en cada lugar ponemos un nombre distinto a la misma “cosa” Me encanta saber los distinto nombres y de las cosas y si detrás hay alguna historia mas!!!)

Mi madre vive en una casa con un lindo y tropical jardín es amante de las plantas y de las flores y estuve mirando todas y cada una de ellas  y querian encontrar una que realmente me recordara mi hogar y a pesar que tiene muchas plantas exoticas muy llamativas como orquideas o bromelias me quedo con una, es un arbusto silvestre que crecio en el muro de mi casa ni siquiera sabemos su nombre lo que si se es que solo lo he visto allli y para mi significa que es mi casa.

Le he tomado fotos y te las envio y aunque no lo creas te he traido una flor de estas ( A pesar de las aduanas y los controles)  y me gustaria enviartela es posible que me envies tu dirección?

De momento te envio imágenes creo que por aquí podriamos empezar junatas una joya si te parece bien?

This is my window view, This is a public school in Barcelona Spain

La vista desde mi ventana, Escuela publica en Barcelona España

Spain local school

Susanne

I’ve been thinking about the piece,
and thus in the immigration to get somewhere, being, and interacting in a place without being there without belonging  there.

I think there is always a constant cycle of processes and give feedback received “something” or rather to  interact.

So from there I happened to do a piece with a beginning, a journey and an end ”
what do you think? How do you see it? What’s your opinion?

What about the shape and materials that I like the more spherical is so bright that reflects your surroundings like a mirror … .. you have several ways to use the piece … .. I am uncertainl?

I am a little doubtful with our project-………………

Susanne

He estado pensando en la pieza,

y con ello en la imigración el llegar a un sitio, el estar, y en el interactuar en un lugar sin ser de alli  sin perternecer allí .

Creo que siempre se produce un ciclo constante de retroalimentación recibes procesas y das “algo” o mejor dicho interactuas.

Así que de alli se me ocurrio hacer una pieza con un principio-un recorrido-y un fin

¿que piesas tu? Como lo ves? Que opinas? Que hay de la forma y los materiales me gustaria que la parte mas esferica sea tan brillante que refleje lo que te rodea como un espejo …..que tengas varias formas de usar la pieza ….. nose que tal? Estoy un poco dudosa con el proyecto

Dear Samantha,

Thank you for the pictures and explanations. I understand your thoughts and your piece. I like the “outgoing” part in the back, it’s odd and strong. Do you think it will be a necklace or brooches at the end?
Its very inspiring for me to see that you have concrete plans and it reminds me that I really have to start to make a concrete jewellery.

I like to use my own situation as an immigrant, hoping that other immigrants can also relate to my situation.

I left my country as an young adult. I will never totally fit in my new, self chosen country because I miss the important child part, the communal past. At the same time I realize that living for 20 years in another country, with an other language, another culture, has changed me so much that I cannot fit in my homeland either.

With that in mind I try to make a necklace with the appearance of a key chain. I’m a symbol, a flower, a bird, not sure yet, cut out of my homeland. At the other side of the chain the symbol has changed and looks like it’s cut out but the shape is different and it doesn’t fit in back anymore. As soon as I have something tangible I send you more images,

lieve groeten, Susanne

Susanne

Reading this I feel the same way as you.

I always have the feeling that I dont belong in any place (I call that placeless) or that I belong in all that  have lived in.(Placefull)

I feel sad and happy when I realized that I belong two diferent places and even when I get very nostalgic I feel richer for having experienced them

That also makes us better understand the world around us at a large scale

I would like you to help me with my piece, I need tecnical support when working with steel wich is what I want to use when constructing the espherical part of my piece?

Cariños

Sam

Susanne

“I left my country as an young adult. I will never totally fit in my new, self chosen country because I miss the important child part, the communal past. At the same time I realize that living for 20 years in another country, with an other language, another culture, has changed me so much that I cannot fit in my homeland either.”

Leyendo esto me siento del mismo modo que tu.

Siempre tengo la sensación o el sentimiento que no soy de ningún lugar y a la vez soy de  todos los lugares por los que he pasado a esto yo le  llamo placeless or placefull.

Siento felicidad y tristeza por los dos lugares a los que pertenezco y no pertenezco.

Y auque a veces me invade la nostalgía creo que soy mas rica al ser parte de dos lugares a la misma vez.

Eso tambien nos hace entender mejor el mundo que nos rodea en gran o menos escala

Me gustaria que me ayudaras con mi pieza como tecnicamente puedo hacer una pieza en acero? Me refiero a la parte mas esferica?

Cariños

sam

What do you think about it? Is it to much a “peace bird” instead of visualizing freedom?

Dear Samantha,

The postman ring at my door… He says this must be a very precious object in this small red box…

And yes, indeed!

It’s very emotional to receive your homeflower. It is so beautiful that I would like to stop with the making of jewellery , because nature is much more beautiful than things I can make…

I will give it a good place in my home, and every time I look at it thinking of you and our contact during this project.

Words are not enough.

Dear Samantha,

You would like to use steel? Stainless steel? Why not using silver? It’s easier to solder. But steel is also possible to give shape with a hamer, polishing (you like it shiny) and fixing the two half balls together. Please ask your questions, we can also having a chat tonight at facebook if that is easier.