Many different processes were used to make this handmade silver/gold necklace. The last step was using Keum-Boo, an ancient Korean technique, which is applying thin sheets of 24 carat gold to fine silver with the heat and pressure to produce a permanent bond.
Art is entirety. For me, fulfillment lies in expressing myself through diverse mediums and creative approaches. Thus, I do not feel any strong commitment to one particular method of expression over another. Although my art education focused on sculpture and design, currently my work varies between painting, making sculpture, installations and creating hand-made jewelry. Painting in the abstract allows me to have spontaneous moments of escape to a place where there are seemingly no rules. I use bright colors. I experiment - mixing paint until it is a thick paste, working with layers of color and paint, mixing it with wax, and then applying it to canvas, wood, or sculptures. When making paintings, I look for questions, I reflect upon my current emotion or I simply become lost in the comfort of the colors I am painting. With clay, I assign a tangible form to motifs that exist outside my everyday surroundings. Built from layers of clay coils, sculpted pieces begin as layers, from the bottom to the top until a finished form emerges. Although unintentional, my sculptures are decidedly feminine in form. Recently, I have begun to experiment with acrylic paint as a top coat instead of glazing or leaving the surface plain. After all, I do enjoy color! My work reflects the immediacy of the present – neither reminiscing in the past nor moving towards the future. It is entirely me. Here. Now.
A native of Poland, Longina Smolinski holds a Master’s Degree from the Academy of Fine Arts in Wroclaw, Poland. For the past twenty eight years, she has lived in Vermont, with her family. There, she has maintained a studio where she actively pursued painting, managed a small design business and has continued to sculpt. Her work has been displayed in exhibits in Poland, Vermont and Colorado among others.