Amberwood Jewelry by Marta Wlodarska

I'm still in Poland mode, just back from my vacation in Krakow. Much of the jewelry there is made from amber, because it's so readily available from the nearby Baltic Sea.

Even though I didn't actually visit this artist, here's a great example of someone from Poland who's doing some very innovative work with amber.

Marta Wlodarska combines natural Baltic amber with various forms of wood, silver, linen, and leather. Based on the photos on the Amberwood Facebook page, it looks like she might even use beach driftwood.

Wlodarska creates lovely collages of alternate layers of orange or yellow amber and wood, trying to blur the lines between the two materials.

Wlodarska, who lives and works in Katowice, located northwest of Krakow, is a graduate from The Academy of Fine Arts there. Katowice is an old industrial city that's becoming more of a tourist destination, with new art galleries opening up in former factories.

Here's an adorable photo of Wlodarska, sporting her handmade creations.

I was never a big amber fan. But now that I've seen the new ways that jewelry artists are using it, I'm hooked.

You can see more of Wlodarska's work in person from October 5-7 at the 2012 Gold Silver Time trade exhibition in Warsaw. At Gold Silver Time, there will be a special show focusing on the amber traditions of central and southern Poland (Amber. Not Only By The Baltic Sea), where Wlodarska's work will be featured. This show will then move to the Earth-Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw and will be on display there through May 13, 2013.

Or visit Amberwood online.

 

Comments

[Sandi]

Thanks, Maya, glad that you like the work. I think it's beautiful, too.

[Maya Topadze Griggs]

Beautiful use of amber. I went to the link you provided and I also love her bracelets.

xx
Maya