Wenjing Yan, Nova Scotia College of Art & Design University
“My works usually reflect fun and freedom, and are rich in memories. Memories inspire me to create my artworks. Also, the process of making those pieces creates more memorable times in my life. This brooch, ‘Starry Night,’ comes from one of my beautiful memories from my childhood, which is about me, my grandma, and my cousin. In my memory, we enjoyed the quiet summer breeze, the sound of nature, and a gorgeous view by sitting beside the lotus pond under the stars. At that night, the stars were so bright and the lotus pond was shining. Therefore, this brooch is not directly picturing a starry night; it is a scene with a lotus leaf, lotus flower, dragonfly, and three small fish under the starry night.
“I put this beautiful feeling and atmosphere in my work, and I hope my audience can also feel the happiness and peace from it. The main lotus leaf and three fish are made from copper; the other parts are silver. To make the shape of the lotus leaf, I used the fold-forming technique. I applied enamel for colours. The back of the lotus and three fish also use the enamel technique. The lotus flower and dragonfly are riveted from the central piece to the frame back. The jump rings connect the fish under the leaf. Also, those different sized jump rings on the chain represent the bubble from the three communicating cute fish, just like me, my grandma, and my cousin.”
Zhan Zhan, Nova Scotia College of Art & Design University
“For ‘Starry Night,’ the first thing I think of is a beautiful night with a bunch of stars. As I diffuse my thoughts further, I think about the planet, the universe, and the nebula. It’s interesting that everything in my eyes looks quite different than it does in other people’s. I could see a fish playing in the star ocean, and a little monster hiding behind a cloud and peeking at me. Those are where my inspirations come from. The techniques I used in these pieces involve using different transparent enamels together. Different times and temperatures give different appearances.”
A fourth-year jewellery design student at NSCAD, Zhan was raised in China and strives to bring a cross-cultural perspective to her work.
