Thank you in advance for your interest. My name is San, I was born in 1987 and grew up in the province of Zeeland in The Netherlands. I am both the designer and the creator of the work featured here. I have been drawing and painting, since I was a child. I loved drawing flora and fauna, and during my teenage years, I developed an interest in the manga style originating from Japan. In my early twenties, I also became fascinated by surrealism, such as the work of H.R. Giger and Salvador Dalí. After having drawn and painted extensively on paper and canvas, I began to wonder what else I could do with it. I wanted to create something functional, something to wear or to use.

 

After much research and trial and error, with the occasional break from creative pursuits, I enrolled in a jewellery-making course for beginners in 2019. On this course, I was introduced to many different techniques for making jewellery. For a while, I became fascinated by the ‘chainmail’ technique, which involves using metal rings, much like the chainmail armour that was once used to protect against cuts in battle. Joining the rings together and arranging them produces fascinating and beautiful results. There are many different patterns within this technique. Eventually, I also wanted to work more with beads, so I began to focus more on beading jewellery. Hence the name ‘De Gekettelde Kraal’, which is Dutch for 'The Chained Bead'.

The name refers to the ancient craft of beading: stringing beads together to form a necklace or bracelet. With beaded necklaces, you can create a piece that exudes a sense of calm by maintaining a regular pattern. They can also be surprising, given that beads can be made from all sorts of materials and come in countless different shapes and colours.

 

After a while, I missed drawing and painting and decided to find a way to combine jewellery with painting. I remembered an aunt who had a huge collection of Hungarian hand-painted pottery in her home. I thought it was absolutely beautiful, but I never really knew what style it was. Eventually, I discovered that it is folk art. This art form originated in rural areas around the 17th–18th centuries, to make furniture and other household items look ‘expensive’. In early 2023, I enrolled on a folk painting course to master the technique. Having completed this course, I now have a clear idea of how I can combine painting and jewellery.

I combine the techniques from the folk art course with my own previously acquired experience. I paint on canvas, various wooden panels and smaller components, which are suitable for jewellery pendants. I assemble the necklace to which the smaller wooden components are attached using stainless steel wire and natural stone, bone and wooden beads. I like to work intuitively and draw my inspiration mainly from spirituality and nature.

 

Go flutter about on my page and amaze yourself!

-San-