ARTIST JEWELLER IN THE PICTURE - TINA GJERSEN-SAV
GOLDSMITH TINA GJERSEN-SAV
My artistic practice stems from a love for nature, both in spirit and matter. It is a quiet contemplation of life’s diversity. From studying the everyday lives of insects, their survival mechanisms, war, and love. An impressive richness of detail is hidden in the insect world – it’s not just the beautiful wings or vibrant bodies that tell stories. When you dive into textbooks and the knowledge of entomology, you often find a creativity that goes beyond ordinary human imagination. This is my starting point for weaving together the traits of insects with human life and existence. We fight our battles on different playing fields and don’t fully grasp the importance of coexistence. As a result, it becomes difficult to find mutual tolerance and agree on sharing the planet.
CAN JEWELLERY BE ART?
HABITAT is a series of hand-crafted insect designs. An artistic project made up so far of 20 designs consisting of insects in their own habitat, exploring the themes of survival and creativity.
The global biodiversity crisis threatens all insects and their precious attributes. While mindful of this, not all creepy-crawlies have our sympathy. Yet insects and humankind may not be that different…
In my insects jewellery, I explore the creativity of winged and flightless insects by means of classical goldsmithing techniques, creating tiny creatures with distinct traits such as stubbornness, vigilance, sensitivity and charm.
HISTORY
Tina Gjersen-Sav (born 1964) is from Langeland, Denmark, and completed her apprenticeship as a goldsmith in 1985 with the Valdemar Jørgensen & Family firm of goldsmiths (est. 1931) She then specialised at the national school of metalworking arts, focusing on enamelling, repoussé metalwork, gem-setting and metal casting.
She also gained a BA in religion, corporate and staff management from the University of Southern Denmark in 2009, and ran her own business as a goldsmith from 2010.
In 2018, Tina won the Australian Pearl Jewellery Design Masters in the men’s jewelry category, with a pair of Saturn cufflinks.
In 2022, she was admitted to the Copenhagen Goldsmiths’ Guild (Kjøbenhavns Guldsmedelaug) and as an artisan goldsmith, she supplements her art with creative and artisanal courses such as in gem setting and the Japanese Mokume-gane metalworking technique.
WORKING AS A MASTER GOLDSMITH
For me, being a goldsmith is about connecting with our earliest origins. The stones, metals and minerals I work with derive from the geological birth of our planet. In transforming these materials into jewellery my hope is that their owners will reflect on the grander scheme of the world we inhabit.
I find my motifs and my materials in nature. Insects and their adaptability fascinate me and inspire ideas for jewellery designs in my sketchbook. After that, I get a thrill from physical contact with the natural materials. Because it is the interplay of the metals and stones that has to succeed for the design to come to life.
I work the materials using state-of-the-art and ancient techniques. I never render the motifs realistically but as interpretations of inner moods. This is how I retain the tension from the worked metal and the play of colour in the finished jewellery to breathe life into my fantasy insects with human-like character traits.