Interview

• How come your pieces are so unusual?

  I was not trained in classical gemstone cutting and therefore I do not use the traditional faceted brilliant cut. I follow a more experimental approach. The stone is the main material in my pieces. It is not just an eye-catcher, but the structure and the centre of every piece.

• Could you describe your creative process?

  I cut large stones into slices and then many small pieces that I assemble into new bodies. For the assembly, I do not use traditional techniques but join them together with a resin that I pigment. This creates colour gradients in the piece, sometimes it almost gives the stone a new colouring.

• What fascinates you about working with gemstones?

  What fascinates me most is that I can work with a material that most people do not consider accessible. I get to work with wonderful natural materials and I have the privilege to enter into a direct dialogue with them.

• How does the nature of the material affect your creative process?

  It is a lengthy process that almost resembles a meditation. I perform the same hand movement for hours. Without pressure, without haste. If I work frantically and do not care for the stone it will break. Then I have to start from scratch or go new ways with the fragment.