LEAVES & LOVE Jewelry Exhibition at the Winter Garden of Helsinki 9.-17.9.2023
Meira Rauta with ‘JuuretOn’
Astari G. Swatantri with ‘The Quest’
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This year, we once again exhibited our jewelry at Helsinki Winter Garden, or Talvipuutarha. It was the beginning till mid of September, and outside late summer flowers were still blossoming. We had warm sunny weathers as well as occasional rains that reminded me much of tropical rains.
Whatever the weather outside is, it’s always wonderful inside the glass building. This time, just as the previous times, we got some treats of nature’s wonders. We saw some flowers that we hadn’t seen before, from some cacti as well as the monstera plant.
Specifically in the cactus room, one plant took our attentions, and that was the towering agave. It apparently was just finishing the blooming period, and the flowers reached the glass roof! The story around the plant is quite exciting so maybe I’d write it on a separate post.
This time, my exhibition theme was ‘The Quest’. The Quest is the title of my necklace that has just won the Award from Japan Jewellery Designers Association at International Silver Accessories Contest 2023. A journey in a quest starts from a regular life, going through different places, often unusual, to reach something truly meaningful. Through the journey, the main character grows and develops. In life, each of us has our own quests, and the piece is dedicated to everyone on their quest.
I had three displays showcasing a collection that was developed based on the necklace. As a quest is a form of a story, on my other two displays I had ‘Leaves and Love Stories’ and ‘Water and Color Stories’ going. In these two displays, I exhibited new and earlier works in silver, all made from Art Clay Silver, silver clay which is made from 100% recycled silver.
In this post I’ll go through my displays.
‘The Quest‘
I displayed The Quest collection in three displays. All of the pieces were made in 2023 based on ‘The Quest’ necklace. All pieces were made in silver and hopefully a selection will be available to order sometime next year.
‘Leaves & Love Stories‘
The Winter Garden, a place where floras from near and far flourish through the four seasons, is a place filled with good vibes. It’s been a source of inspiration for my paintings, stories and song, jewelry, and, for Leaves & Love exhibition.
In this display, I showed several pieces related to the winter garden and our Leaves & Love Jewelry Exhibition. ‘The Winter Garden’, is a set of three pendants that I created in 2015 and were inspired by the very Winter Garden of Helsinki. Along with the pendants, were several pieces that represented each year of previous Leaves & Love Exhibitions, from 2019 to 2022.
‘Water & Color Stories‘
I’m passionate about jewelry and watercolor. As a result, some of my creations are fusions of both worlds. In this display, I featured the silver frames that I created earlier, and I painted new miniature watercolor paintings for them. Each painting is about 2cm wide. All the paintings are scenery from the Winter Garden and its surroundings. I also displayed my signature watercolor studio set ‘Secret Studio’ ring and pendants, and a mini watercolor book with new paintings. I’m planning my first watercolor exhibition for next year, and I’m very excited to share more about my fusion work of silver jewelry and watercolor. Watch this space!
Thank You
We would like to express our gratitude to all guests and visitors of Leaves & Love 2023 both at Helsinki Winter Garden and online through our websites and social medias. From the bottom of our hearts, a special thank you to Helsinki Winter Garden team members for the opportunity to exhibit our jewelry once more. We enjoyed every minute in the amazingly beautiful space. We are truly grateful for everyone’s support. Hope to see you again next time! Astari & Meira – Astari G. Swatantri & Meira Rauta
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