The document summarizes the Jewellery Design and Silversmithing program at Sint Lucas University of Art and Design in Antwerp, Belgium. The program emphasizes experimentation, topicality in the arts, and allows room for artistic research. Students learn both contemporary jewellery design and small object design, starting with ideas and research. They receive an academic training and link theory with practice through workshops and guest lectures. The program aims to help students develop as artists and designers through an individualized learning process focused on research, craft, and presentation skills.

1. DEPARTMENT OF JEWELLERY DESIGN AND SILVERSMITHING
SINT LUCAS ANTWERPEN
ST LUCAS UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF ART & DESIGN ANTWERP
how we think
how we work
Sint Lucas Antwerpen offers a Bachelor’s and Master’s programme that helps students
develop into artists and designers. The programme emphasises topicality and
experimentation in the arts and design, and offers a lot of room for artistic research.

2. In the Jewellery Design | Silversmithing department, we design both contemporary jewels and small
objects. In creating them, we always start out from the idea. An affinity with materials and technique is
important, but also subordinate to that idea. Moreover, the department offers an academic training,
and artistic work is thus always tied to research and theory.

3. The link between theory and practice is further explored through numerous contributions by visiting lecturers and
guest teachers from different fields. In 2011, for instance, renowned British silversmith David Clarke gave a 5-day
workshop.

4. His workshop centred on ‘Recycling’ and ‘Upcycling’. The first thing students had to do was ‘get to know’ their
chosen object: the objects had to be sketched, photographed, copied, mapped out… until they knew them inside
out. The object was then even drawn blindfolded: as Clarke said, you familiarize yourself quite differently with an
object if you’re only allowed ‘feel’ or ‘touch’ it…

5. Given the diversity of objects, the design methods and results differed radically from one another, and this gave
participants a range of new insights, not only by constantly questioning their own work process but also by
following closely that of others.

6. The following days focused on
the more general theme of
ecology within contemporary
society. The use of water and
toilet paper (!) was raised, and
– indeed – the recycling thereof
was also evoked in detail.

7. Although the theme of the
workshop was ‘Recycling’,
it went far beyond just the
material recycling of
existing objects. Indeed,
the main point seemed to
be the recycling of work
processes and design
methods, so that the use of
familiar techniques, ways of
thinking, approaches and
views of things were
constantly re-viewed, re-
considered and re-cycled.

8. In ‘2000 mm of insomnia’, the workshop given by Christopher Zellweger, third-year Bachelor students explored
their personal interpretation of the idea of 'connection'.

9. ‘When handling essentials like warmth, laughter, love and blood and connecting this to 2000 mm of insomnia,
a beautiful transfusion occurs’, says Christopher Zellweger of the meaning of the work.

10. Each student used an object measuring 2000 mm to refer to his or her own area of interest.

11. This object was presented in a carefully chosen and highly strategic place at the exhibition space ‘Silke
and the Gallery’ in the heart of Antwerp, close to the Fashion Museum.

12. In this way, yet another new 'connection' emerged – with the exhibition space and the professional field.

13. From the very start of her workshop, Helen Carnac made clear she did not know her way around Antwerp. A map
was thus laid out, and students could show how much of Antwerp they knew. Some had lived here all their lives,
while others had just moved here to study. The project began with walks chosen by the group.

14. Helen Carnac discussed the subject of individual collecting: picking up things or taking photographs. Both can
focus on familiar or unfamiliar traces left by humanity as a documentation of time. Armed with cameras and
collecting bags the students set out on their walk.

15. Each student had to show which system they had found to document and translate their collection and
photographs into work. Some literally took outlines of their findings to base their work on. Others worked with
their entire collection of found objects.

16. But how could these different collections of objects represent the shared journey they came from? Since the
photographs really helped recreate a visual memory, they were used as a chronological guide for the group walk.
To mimic a timeline, a long piece of horizontal string was pinned to the wall to hold the photographs.

17. As Helen said: ‘This project is a formative part of the jewellery students’ studies. Whilst it does not
explicitly connect with what we may think of as jewellery, it is intended to encourage thinking around
ideas such as collecting data, research, mark-making, the identity of a place, individuals and place and
how we experience place by being in it, on our feet’.

18. Guy Cuypers, a renowned mould-maker who has worked with Berlinde De Bruyckere, Jan Fabre, Wim Delvoye
and other famous Belgian artists, taught the students how to make a perfect mould. The location, a beautiful
18th-century manor, was chosen for its ancient local tradition of mould-making and casting of clay objects.

19. To start the moulding process, a
variety of small objects had been
brought by the students. These
objects had been chosen for their
shape or form, surface structure,
detail, and size. These features
dictated the material of the mould
that was going to be created.
Experimenting with one’s objects
was strongly encouraged!

20. Even though the entire process
was well structured, every now
and then something unexpected
and unexplained would happen,
resulting in a good learning
experience for the whole group.

21. Once the moulds had been finished, they were filled with wax, which could then be cast in the desired material.
By the end of the week, each student had some fantastic moulds and enough knowledge to get started on their

22. As an added bonus, the workshop ended with an impressive tour of the art foundry Art Casting in
Oudenaarde, Belgium, where artists from all over the world come to have their work moulded and cast.

23. Yuka Oyama worked in her workshop with 6 second-year Bachelor students on inventing ‘Schmuck
Quickies’.

24. For Yuka Oyama, jewellery does not exist without interaction with the audience. Therefore, the students
each worked on their own concept or question –

25. hich they literally did amidst the audience – with their recycling material and tools. .
w

26. After four days of preparations,
the Stadsfeestzaal, a recently
renovated shopping centre in the
heart of Antwerp, was the location
where students successfully
presented their ‘Schmuck
Quickies’ to the public.

27. A visual report ‘back at school’.

28. Gijs Assmann and Erik Mattijssen, who teach at the Gerrit Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam, developed a
workshop originating in the belief that drawing is an essential instrument in transforming ideas, plans and
longings into images. In art education, the stress was and is still mainly on the representation of the world around
us. Drawing observations, practising perspective, sketching the model: these are important exercises...

29. In this new workshop, however, the emphasis was put on another aspect of working on paper, i.e.,
practising the imagination..

30. Many assignments in art education
demand that a good idea precedes
the actual creation...

31. But the road to getting an idea is often dark and unpaved, illuminated by misunderstandings and unproductive
presuppositions, says Mattijssen. Drawings and collages offer an opportunity to get lost and still arrive at your
destination.

32. In the last assignment, one of the drawings was transformed into a large three-dimensional object. Students
thus used coloured paper which they made themselves. Afterwards, these objects were brought outside – an
action which changed the context completely.

33. As mentioned already, the
students’ work is always
based on research. We gather
sources from outside and
from within ourselves. We
develop design methods.
Ours is an ongoing search for
the combination between
thinking and doing, research
and intuition, content and
execution, the imagination
and interpretation.

34. Each student makes a process-folio containing ideas, sources of inspiration,
experiments with material and comments by teachers and fellow students.

36. In the first Bachelor year the emphasis is on experimentation; visual assignments will confront you with
something unexpected and challenge you to discover and push back your own limits.

37. In the second year you will zoom in on the craft itself. You will explore the specific language of jewels and
objects, a language that says something about ‘value’, ‘luxury’, ‘use’, ‘protection’, ‘souvenir’, ‘status’,
‘tradition’, etc. – themes that refer to content and meaning.

38. In the third year you will mostly work independently, and you will try to determine your own position within the
international professional field. By now you will have developed an authentic visual language in your own
handwriting.

39. In your Master’s year the
emphasis will be even more on
responsibility and your own
initiatives. This time you will
formulate your own research
questions and determine the
context of your work. This
Master’s year is only intended for
students wishing to pursue
research-related issues.

40. We find it is very important to work in the workshop because we believe that students can learn a lot from
each other. They can share their experiences and learn to develop a critical view of their own work and that
of their fellow students. They learn to work together, take initiatives and share responsibility.

41. The visualisation of the artistic research happens in the student’s process-folio, whose main purpose is to
show all the different steps in the process of a work.

42. Collecting and selecting images through different sources: the Internet, books, exhibitions,
discussions, peers…

43. First, do, experiment; and then reflect on what you did.
Reflecting is thinking about your own work and yourself with the goal of then learning to change and
improve what you’re doing. It is the way in which and the extent to which you can assess and evaluate
your own work, ideas, opinion and attitude and then be able to draw conclusions for further action and
improvement.

44. A process-folio can look like a workbook, so students have to be careful not to select too much: a
process-folio shows a process, it is not a finished product.

45. Students should try to be as clear as possible, using more images than words. A process-folio is a way
of communicating. It should be made in a personal and artistic way but remain readable for others.

47. And it is out of this process-related work method that strong images will emerge.
Powerful images that communicate in an authentic manner with the outside world,
the public, people. As a piece of jewellery or an object.

48. ‘Unlike a portfolio, a process-folio
includes every single creative step
towards some particular goal. In the
case of a major report, a student
would include all comments and
criticisms made by the teacher and
other students. She would also include
her own personal interpretations of
that criticism – in other words, a meta-
assessment of the work-in-progress.
In the end, the process-folio would
demonstrate the student's growth, as
well as her completion of the work’.
- Gardner

49. It can be a combination of images and drawings of your own work and images of things that inspire you.
Every page in a process-folio should be interesting; it does not have to be logical but it has to be clear.

50. The courses on digital photography and film are some of the other ways of learning to visually
express yourself.

51. The preference lies in making jewellery and objects that express your own fascinations. That’s why we think
it is very important to coach students individually – with the focus on personal, artistic development, just as
it is within a fine arts education. Nevertheless, our graduates should not only have the skills to be jewellery
creators; they should have also a good understanding of other professional fields, like fashion jewellery.

52. The graduation subject for the Jewellery Design | Silversmithing department at Sint Lucas
Antwerpen is designing and producing contemporary jewellery as well as small objects. Objects
that aren’t necessarily functional, but have a clear reference to people and a human scale. That
is why we see the body as the ‘red thread’ in these two different parts of the curriculum.

53. Professional lecturers from different fields are also invited to give their personal view on contemporary jewellery.
That is why we organise ‘Confrontations’, a series of lectures set up jointly by Sint Lucas Antwerpen, the Media
Arts Design MAD faculty in Hasselt, and the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp.

54. A major part of the programme is that students have to present and talk about their work in group
discussions.

55. Or in more official presentations for a larger public. A good insight in their own working process is thus
required.

56. In this way, students regularly practise their communication skills, like talking and writing about their work.

57. But before the final presentation is ready, some work has to be done. Normally students start by drawing
their first ideas. These are not technical drawings; on the contrary, these sketches act as a source of
inspiration and stimulate the imagination.

58. At the same time, students conduct research on their chosen theme.

59. They gather information from different sources and different points of view in books, pictures, the
Internet, movies, etc.

60. They explore reality, but that is precisely what triggers their imagination: an elaborate finger is the result.

61. Later on, the student started making a whole project around nails and nail extensions.

62. She wanted to make all kinds of nail extensions, with different kinds of functions, like painting for example.

63. Or they were inspired by animal claws.

64. And brightened up with a ‘hairdo’.

65. Or dressed up like a schoolgirl.

66. These extensions are the final outcome of the research conducted by Sandra Buyck.

67. And this is her presentation of the work.

68. The next set of pictures shows the entire work process of a first-year Bachelor student. Charlotte’s
assignment was on ‘still lives’. Her mood board at her working space shows her interests.

69. The concept of ‘time’ was clearly one of her fascinations.

70. But then: how are we to collect time ?

71. Pearls also refer to this topic – with their obviously classical image.

72. Even in a contemporary design.

73. These earrings, made of clockwork
parts, present another reference to
time.

74. The same student, but one year later. Her way of working is now even more profound. This image is not just
a poetical representation of the moon, but the start of a very elaborate research on the subject of ‘silver’.

75. She explored the link between silver and photography – sometimes metaphorically,

76. and sometimes quite literally.

77. Charlotte’s process-folio shows historical sources of inspiration and information.

78. But also references to contemporary fine arts and jewellery.

79. A ‘mind map’ gives insight into her mental work
process.

80. Although the important part of the process-folio is the capturing of practical experiences and concrete

81. The results gradually become visible.

82. Accompanied by the everlasting challenge of making good jewellery out of it.

83. Or why not just refer to the topic of ‘jewellery’ ?

84. Even as an object, this piece says a lot about contemporary jewellery in connection with aspects of time,
volatility and transparency.

85. After this black-and-white series, let’s
now have a look at a colourful Master’s
project.
The theme of Shana Teugels’ jewellery
collection and presentation was called
‘My Magical Dream Fair’. At first sight
the spectator experiences a certain
discomfort, but at the same time finds it
hard to resist the attraction of the alluring
colours and glistening details.

86. A simple piece of polypropylene, forged
with a flame, reveals itself as an organic
creature with kinks and crinkles. The
material acquires a shape of ‘rocaille’
adornment with shells and other
capricious ornaments.

87. ‘Eventually a series of jewellery is created which is the result, on the one hand, of an experiment with
materials, and, on the other, extensive research into kitsch and its meaning. Not only the plastic, but the fake
pearls, the glitter, the tinsel, the exaggerated dimensions and the gushing, creamy, glittering glue are the
common theme in a series I think of as my very own fairground’.

88. The irrational element that pure kitsch surrounds itself with is systematically frowned upon and considered
cheap and inferior sentiment in our Western (art) world. Shana therefore considers it a challenge to break
through this conception in her work.

89. As mentioned, ‘presentation’ is a very important issue in our Jewellery Design | Silversmithing
department. Student works are often displayed in several exhibitions and at fairs in Belgium and
abroad. ‘Der Schmuck Salon’, recognisable by its red velvet attributes or props, is one of them. The
domestic elements and jewellery pieces seem to be traces of a world that never existed and never will,
but one that still appears to be familiar. The mirrors, tables, cupboards and chairs, as well as the
jewellery, are apparent elements of reality, referring to another reality.

92. We hope to welcome you very soon in the Jewellery Design | Silversmithing department of Sint Lucas Antwerpen.