Conversations with an Artist: Siri Hansdotter

 

A creative from a young age, Siri Hansdotter discovered a love of hand forming, first with clay and later with lost wax casting. Siri crafts fine jewelry with an aesthetic that is organic, sculptural and takes cues from nature. Her collection of fine jewelry in 14k gold and with diamonds and gems, are the ultimate modern heirlooms. View Siri Hansdotter Fine Jewelry here.

8 Questions

Describe the moment you realized making art fed your soul.
I've always felt the persistent calling to create. It's like organizing ideas and imagery with my hands.

Being a creative, practicing creative thinking...design–has shaped the way I interpret and handle problems in the real world. Understanding that in the beginning of trying something new, I will not be great, or even good. That mistakes happen and highlight where to improve. Patience is huge. Tidiness, creating a space for the work, and going to that space to practice the work. There are so many times I wanted to give up, but would remember that the difference between good and great was persistence and determination– not giving up.

I took my first jewelry making class in SF at the Sharon Arts Studio in Golden Gate Park in 2009. I found the challenge– the unforgiving nature of moving metal–very rewarding. Working with a torch was especially intimidating and I've always liked the feeling of accomplishing something a little scary. I kept searching for more skills and testing new ideas over the years. When I took my first wax carving class at Silvera in Berkeley I really felt the excitement, like I could form these ideas in wax and transform them into metal. 

 

What themes do you pursue in your jewelry collection? 
I love texture. I leave the marks of my tools in the wax for this reason and often like to distort parts of a design to suggest play and movement. Some themes I explore are inspired by woven textiles, knitting yarn and clay combined with carved floral and leafy elements found in nature. 

Tell us about what influences the direction for your craft. 
Adornment as storytelling, connection, expression, ritual. When I create a piece I want it to communicate something for the collector, to make them feel something. 

I also design for comfort,  it has to be comfortable and worn without effort. 

It has to be rugged and hold up to wear and repairable.

And of course sourcing natural materials that are responsibly and ethically mined is a highlight of my work.

How has your jewelry developed over time?
I started out in brass and silver, hand fabricating, sawing, etching, hammering– all efforts to move metal– until I found wax and fell in love with the ability to push and pull a design with a hot wax pen. Today I work mostly in wax and lost wax cast primarily in 14K fairmined gold. My work has evolved into a capsule collection of favorites.

What’s the most indispensable item in your studio?
If I had to pick one tool for the island, it would be my foredom wax pen and some wax. 

Do you collect anything?
I love this question because, with my artist brain, everywhere I would go I would find potential and treasure. In nature I'd pick up rocks, driftwood, tumbled glass on the beach. In high school I even had a collection of old doors I kept at my parents house; I think it drove everyone mad. 

I've come to realize over the years that I don't work well with clutter, and my collecting tendencies would overwhelm me. It's like too many ideas in my head, too much potential. So these days my collections tend to be small– sentimental, functional or nonphysical. That's why I love jewelry, because it's small and holds value. I have my capsule pieces I wear daily, and a small box of my very first creations, heirlooms, and other artists' work. I also love functional ceramics and have a little cabinet of handmade oddities, boxes, vessels, and sculptural pieces my kids made. 

What’s the most inspiring thing you’ve seen, read, watched or listened to recently?
Book (on tape) - The Whole Language by Gregory Boyle - founder of Homeboy Industries

Good Inside by Becky Kennedy (not just a parenting book.)

Podcasts - I'm a nerd for personal growth and love Mel Robbins, Expanded, Ten Percent Happier, Mark Groves, and We Can Do Hard Things

Movie - (I love obscure and weird) - recently Poor Things

What advice would you give to your younger self about your artistic journey? 
Find the thing that no one else is doing and do that, it's probably going to be really hard; find a way to make it effortless.

 

Bonus Question:
What role does music play for you while you work?
Music, yes! Some of my current favorites to work to: Elastica, Mother Mother, LA Priest, Rosalia.

Inspired by rituals of adornment and storytelling in metal, Siri Hansdotter's work is sculptural, textural, and incites a tactile and visceral experience for the collector. We love how Siri's rings stack seamlessly and how her earrings and necklaces layer, whether more organic in form or nature inspired. 

View Siri Hansdotter fine jewelry here.