With a 6 years old at home, I have a bunch of old pencils. I wonder what to do with them? I knew if I give those to Jen, she would turn the pencils to sculpture and jewelry. I'm so amazed with her pieces, so I decided to interview her.
I began by asking her "Tell me a bit about your background"
Jen:
I'm a graduate of Mass College of Art, I majored in Glass. After I graduated, I didn't have the funds to continue with glass, so I played around with other materials, and eventually, pencils. I've been making sculptures out of pencils since 1999, and jewelry out of pencils since 2005.
Bigib:
How do you get ideas. I play in my brain, or even inspired when I'm in shower, then I work on it. Some sit down, look at it and get inspired.... How is your design process.
Jen:
haha, all of the above! I'll take my inspiration where and when I can get it.
Bigib: How do you innovate?
Jen: I have found that making items better means making them slower. I have come up with a few tricks, through lots of trial and error. Some of my new projects are inspired by suggestions from others- for example, someone asked me to make earrings, which I didn't do when I started. I listen to what other people have to say about my work, they always feel sorry for me, since they think I must be bored with my painstaking processes, and want to help me make things faster.
Bigib: Why do you choose the material of your choice.
Jen: I use pencils in my sculptures because of the textures and colors. I have lots and lots of them at my studio, so I guess it is just natural for me to use them for my jewelry, since they are always available.
To learn more about Jen Maestre's jewelry, you can visit her etsy store
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