Embelish yoursellf or let me embellish you


My recent show was a great sucsess, In the day i drew on the walls of the gallery explaning the concepts of my work and at night i made pieces in the window. I sold 34 pieces got 7 commisiona and swaped 5 pieces and it has been like birthdays over and over recieving the goodies. This show was so enjoyable and by having it set up by Lisa Walker had a great deal of carictor in the placement.

Kapiti Mana Reported.
A Whitireia Polytechnic student has hundreds of dollars worth of pearls on display at a Wellington art gallery, though you might not realise it.

"People don't realise the pearls are real until I tell them, then they're really shocked and say things like 'I can't believe you did that to real pearls," said Jessica Winchcombe, who dips the pearls in paint.

"I love pearls and paint. The works I make are really colourful. Often I get a string of pearls and dip them in paint. I like the idea that if you had a really expensive pearl necklace, the last thing you would want to do is dip them in paint. [My work] is all about the attraction we have to certain objects, whether it's a gift we have been given or a memory."

Even though she buys pearls in bulk from a supplier, the third-year student has spent "heaps of money" on them. But she loves making jewellery and already has a line selling well in New Zealand and overseas.

Having also studied in Australia and London, Ms Winchcombe hopes to gain entrance to the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Munich once she finishes her Whitireia course in June.

"It's the Harvard of jewellery school. It is the dream," she said.

For now though, Ms Winchcombe is enjoying her first solo exhibition, at Thistle Hall.

"It's really nice not having to work with people on this. I can display everything the way I want. It's nice to have that sort of control, though I'm nervous too."

As well as turning jewellery into art, Ms Winchcombe makes clothes. "I really like doing styling, so I often make clothes that match my jewellery. I like textiles and sewing."

Ms Winchcombe's exhibition, Embellish Yourself, is showing until June 1 at Thistle Hall, 293 Cuba St, Wellington.

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