I was first drawn to Susana Teixeira’s jewellery for the little pods of colour in her rings and pendants. Inspired by sponges and corals from the sea, they are tactile and intriguing. And of course, who am I to ignore rich, vibrant colour when I see it?
susana teixeira – red coral pendant
susana teixeira – red coral ring
susana teixeira – black sponge ring
Investigating the her work a bit more revealed a few other threads to her work. Originally from Portugal, she has utilised a traditional form of filigree, but made it her own through modern shapes and interpretations – birds, bows, crowns and clouds all make an appearance.
Originally training and working as a Maths teacher, this history finds its way into her work too. Crystalline forms in her ‘Meteor’ series convey the idea of precision with their crisp edges and asymmetrical geometry.
“I have always been drawn to details; geometry, symmetry, asymmetry, proportions. All these elements were and are present in my life as both a mathematician and jewelery designer.”
Susana started on Etsy about 3 years ago, although she had already been working as a jeweller for a little while before that. “I have a degree in Mathematics and I worked as a Math teacher for 10 years in my home country of Portugal. While working as a teacher, I felt that I needed learn something more practical and manual, and so I decided to undertake study in the techniques of jewelry. Since then I started to exhibit my work in Portugal. This professional course took me 3 years and was a fabulous occupation that let me relax from the stress of my day-to-day work.”
susana teixeira -silver cloud necklace
susana teixeira – filigree pendant
“Then three years ago, my life changed completely. My personal life brought me to the north of Italy, and here I am between the Alps and making jewelry as my principal occupation. Having the time to dedicate to make jewelry is the best thing that happened to me.”
“In the last two years I’ve been working essentially in filigree and lost wax casting. The filigree is an amazing technique that is part of the traditional costume from‘Viana do Castelo’, a city in the north of Portugal. I learned it in Portugal and I have been working with this technique for 3 years. I’m continuously learning and trying to adapt this ancestral technique in my contemporary works. The lost wax casting process allows me to make organic forms, which is a challenge for me since my mathematical view makes me tend to produce geometric pieces.”
susana teixeira – signet ring
She constantly listens to music while working, and says that it is definitely one of her biggest influences. “Almost every piece I make has a musical background. If I had to choose one thing, I would choose indie electronic duo High Places.”
susana teixeira – the big crash meteor ring
Ironically perhaps for a Mathematician, Susana says her workspace is chaos 90% of the time. “Is it possible to have an organized jewelry work place?”
Her best piece of advice comes from a friend:
“You will never know if it works until you try it and there is always something exciting in the things you can’t control.”
susana teixeira – workspace
You can find more of Susana’s jewellery in her Etsy shop, SusanaTeixeiraJewels.