I contacted her recently to see if she could send me some information about her life and work, and I'll add that here so you can get to know a little bit more about her:
"Having spent all my summers close to Greek nature from an early age, I have felt the need to capture a part of it. Images, sounds, material, wood, stones, fruit, fish and birds and the sun started taking substance in the form of jewels, early creations which I was able to wear and feel incredibly strong while wearing. I do not recall the manufacturing - part improvisation and part of the moment. What I do recall is a sense of fulfillment coming out of the process.
"Eventually I studied Design and Manufacturing of handmade and cast jewelry at MOKUME Silversmithing and Jewelry Design Academy in Thessaloniki and modern art jewelry in Florence at Le Arti Orafe Jewelry School Academy. I attended courses at the Gemmological Association of Great Britain, and at Act's Education Center. I still use those natural materials of the past combined with silver, gold, and precious stones.
"Sun, fish and birds have become symbols through a different conceptual approach.This time I placed them inside the "womb" and they denote in three different units, the Conception, Incubation and Birth of anything material or immaterial we are surrounded by. About two years ago I was invited to move jewelry away from the body into space through the view of pieces of non-wearable jewelry using formative techniques of jewelry making. As a result, by playing with the scale and the materials, I have been creating a series of jewelry sculptures of a bigger scale which can stand as objects in space."
In the words of Curator Kostis Spanopoulos, "The art work of creator Tassa Theocharis Ganidou is characterized by a unique rendering of contemporary handcrafted jewelry that goes beyond the ordinary and stands biomorphically in the present. This mixed media jewelry with skillfully crafted naturalism combines the characteristics of modern art with jewelry making. The original model is completed as the outcome of experience. Different materials seem to fall in love in the cycle of life creating a conceptual identification with a dual meaning where soft textures interact with solid materials leading to the fruitful, interesting and unprecedented coexistence of materials and manufacturing techniques."
When I contacted Tassa, she told me that she was recently asked to take part in an exhibition in Milan for Fashion Week in February of 2019, "Artistar Jewels 2019," where she will be one of 100 artists who were selected from all over the world. Each work of art she makes is one of a kind, and she also designs special pieces in consultation with people who contact her to discuss custom designs. If you're in Greece, you can visit her studio, and throughout the rest of the world people can contact her through Instagram @__tassa___t2g or by email. Her designs reach into the realm of myth and legend and hover in dreamspace, taking us on a journey through the cycles of life. There is a feeling of watery depths and stones washed up on the beach combined with images of nature, conception, birth and life, and continuity. She seems so young to have a sensibility so deeply carved in history and time and space. The art of Tassa Theocharis Ganidou is timeless as the artist is herself.
Museum Of Arts And Design
2 Columbus Circle
New York City
Photos Courtesy Of Tassa Theocharis Ganidou
On Astypalaia Island
Aegean Sea
In The Volcano Of Nisyros Island
Aegean Sea
At Papatzikou Art Gallery
In Xirolivado Village In The Vermio Mountains
Northern Greece
Blessings,
Jannie Susan
