Noha Khalaf
edition #6 - Jewllery designer
fl. What inspired you to make jewellery? When did you
first begin? I first started making jewellery about 10 years
ago. I was studying Architecture at the time, which is a pretty
full on course and I needed a hobby that allowed me to relax
and stop thinking. I started with beading, making very simple
necklaces and earrings, and then over time the things I made
became more complex and involved, but I was still only working
in beads. I’d never really considered goldsmithing as a career
until 2004 when I completed a visual arts course at CAE over my
uni summer holiday. One of the units I took was ‘3d design’, and
it introduced me to working with metal. I couldn’t get enough of
it, all of a sudden there was this whole new world of possibility
open to me and all I wanted to do was make things!
fl. Metalwork is not an activity that can be done without
the use of certain tools. What are these tools, and where
did you learn to use them? I was first introduced to the two
most important things a jeweller needs at CAE. They are a torch
and a flexi-drive. The torches we use are basically mini welding
torches using either propane or natural gas and oxygen for fuel.
A flexi-drive is a lot like a dentist drill. It’s used for all the drill bits
and burrs and wheels which we need.
fl. The toy piece is an example of your work that crosses
into the realm of sculpture. Do you have any plans to
create more sculptures in the future? I think that the line
between jewellery and small sculpture is very blurred, so I tend
to look at all the pieces I create as sculptures in their own right. In
the case of the toy piece, I was interested in exploring movement
and the idea of an object which exists mainly in negative space,
rather than being solid. These two themes really intrigue me and
I will definitely be exploring them further, whether it be in the form
of ‘sculpture’ or ‘jewellery’.
fl. How much time do you devote to your art per week,
and what are you currently working on? If I had to quantify
the amount of time I spend on my art formally I would say it’s
about 20 hours a week, but the reality is I spend almost all my
time thinking and coming up with new ideas! I can’t really help
it, everything I see turns into an item of jewellery in my head. I’ve
got a little visual diary which I carry around with me everywhere
I go, and it’s full of scribbled notes and half formed ideas and
sketches.
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'Our ability to live in peace with each other, depends first and foremost on our ability to accept all that is different between us'
"We wish to create new possibilities for artistic relationships and cultural exchange, supporting artists at all levels in the development of their craft. Frame Lines offers a unique access to a dynamic world of print and new media, like yourselves to the belief that art, writing and creative expression matter.
It doesn’t matter how the literal (by conventional definitions) quality of a piece of work is gauged, as long as we are convinced that you ripped a chunk of your soul and bared it to the world (with your eyes closed tight and heart as open as the sky), then you’ve earned your moment of marvel; your glitter of fairy dust; your glow of twilight in our world of darkness and lightness. And by whatever’s sacred, we’ll help you celebrate it"