Art binds. Art has the special ability to bring people together physically - at galleries, workshops or fairs - and culturally, through its capacity to portray a shared story, to inspire reflection and to form connections that transcend differences.
Today's article is about art collaboration, defined as a single art piece or project completed by multiple artists, all making a contribution to the same art piece. Sounds exciting and fun, doesn’t it?
The name of the first artist we will focus on today is Serena Di Mercione. She is Sicilian and lives in a place near the sea. Art and crafts have always been part of her life, since childhood. Creativity and love for art are qualities that have always belonged to Serena to the point that she decided to have her studies in the art domain (first the Art School and then the Academy of Fine Arts).
“I have always loved jewelry, especially the artistic ones, in any technique,” Serena says about the beginning of her artistic journey. “I have been collecting jewelry for many years and, at the same time, I have developed a passion for making jewelry myself. I have always had a passion for very particular, refined, handcrafted, showy jewels so, when I realized that I could make them with my own hands, my experimentation began.”
For about twelve years Serena has been passionate about textile jewelry. She experimented with various techniques, arriving at the soutache. It is a technique that remains close to the artist’s heart because it is impromptu and full of possibilities.
The word “soutache” means a narrow, flat ornamental braid and refers to viscose ribbons (or other materials) which, when observed closely, look like stripes and which, sewn together, create an ornament. The beauty of the soutache technique is that you can create an infinite number of shapes and color combinations, incorporating crystals, pearls and much more between the strips of the soutache.
Always looking for particular and unique details to be included in her jewels, Serena started to use handcrafted components made by other creative people in the world. Polymer clay cabochons, flowers or berries started to adorne the intricate designs the artist creates.
“This necklace has a mix of techniques,” says Serena about this particular piece. “In addition to the soutache and the polymer clay bouquet, the collar is decorated with decoupage and material encrustation of pearls, crystals and gold leaf.”
And so, the story leads to the second protagonist of this collaboration. It’s time to introduce Doriana Germano. Doriana is Italian and lives in Campania, a town on the Amalfi coast. She has a degree in computer science, but since childhood had an interest in creativity and handmade crafts. The artist has been passionate about making handmade jewelry for about 14 years, starting with beading, moving on to crochet, to soutache, and up to the passion for polymer clay - a material she started to work with about ten years ago.
Serena has known Doriana for some years, but they never collaborated before although she has always admired her dexterity. “Recently, I became fascinated by some cabochons Doriana made,” recalls Serena about the beginning of this team work. “I love the details that remind me of the atmosphere of southern Italy and in particular of my beloved Sicily. I adore to create mini-worlds where I can find the scent of my land, the color of the sea, the warm light of the sun, the smell of orange blossom and of lemons…”
“I love to experiment and create artistic jewels and elements for other artists such as Serena, often in floral style,” reveals Doriana.
“I have known Serena for many years and have always admired her creations and her particular taste in the choice of shapes and colors. Our collaboration was born after I made elements that illustrate the symbols of my land, a theme that has always fascinated Serena, that unites both our homelands and all of southern Italy.”
Thus was born a perfect union between the cabochons made by Doriana and Serena’s intricate soutache designs. “The earrings created with these cabochons were intended for those who would love a flashy, colorful, particularly jeweled, and for those who love the colors and the themes of vibrant southern Italy,” mentions Serena about the jewelry created upon her partnership with Doriana.
Each time artists from different fields team together, the process is distinctly special and the result has a magic allure, as if two worlds entwine. We firmly believe that one world cannot live without the other, the exchange of different perspectives is a gateway to achieve true openness and freedom in creativity.
