Tadas Deksnys

Enameller

The joyful marriage of metal and enamel

Tadas has always enjoyed minute work
Jewellery making conquered physics as a life passion
To him, enamel adds depth and joy to metal

From an early age, Tadas Deksnys has been attracted to small objects requiring meticulousness. As a child, he liked to draw, glued models of ships and planes and attended a telemechanics class. He enjoyed it so much that he enrolled in physics after leaving school. But it was not long before jewellery making became more appealing. Tadas enrolled at the Telšiai Higher School of Fine Arts and graduated with a degree in metalworking art. He has been making jewellery in titanium, gold, silver, and precious stones for many years. Today, he dedicates most of his attention to enamel techniques that can be applied to metal. He forges and shapes decorative vessels and forms out of metal, coating them with colourful enamel. Tadas' work has been exhibited many times in Lithuania and abroad. His vessels and dimensional forms are an opportunity to combine classical techniques with the new possibilities of enamel.

Interview

What do you like most about making jewellery?: I like working with metal the most. I am fascinated by its properties. It can be hammered or bent and be made to have different textures. At the same time, I really want colour in metal. Silver is white or blackened, gold is yellow, copper is reddish. That is why enamel came into my work. It gives depth and joy to the metal.
Could you describe what is the relationship between tradition and innovation in your work?: As far as tradition is concerned, the vast majority of Lithuanian jewellers are first-generation. Due to historical circumstances it is almost impossible for someone's grandfather or father to have been a jeweller. In this sense, I consider us, the current Lithuanian jewellers, to be semi-self-taught experimenters. We do not follow tradition because we never had it, and this gives us more freedom in our work.
Do you consider yourself to be a member of a vanishing craft?: When I think of enamel, I certainly do. It seems archaic now, and very few people work with it. It is a complicated technique. It takes a lot of time, a lot of knowledge, and good technical conditions. So as an enamel artist, I do represent, so to speak, an almost dying tradition.
What are the most memorable moments in your professional life?: For me, the most memorable moments are when you start doing something, and it turns out well. The first moments of mastering a technique. Like for a child who takes a first step, there is a lot of joy. There will be many more steps later in life, but the first one is the most important.

Tadas Deksnys is an expert artisan he began his career in 1991