www.londonlinkmag.com
volume four, issue one // page 9
ARTBEAT: THE DANGLING CANVAS
by Nadia Janjua
Three years ago, one of my mentors was browsing through postcards of my paintings and she said to me, very nonchalantly, “You should think about making resin earrings out of your postcards.” So, I went home that night and googled “how to make resin earrings.” A couple of focused days in Studio and many instructional Youtube videos later, I had bulk-produced my first batch of earrings – never mind that they were made out of illustration board and that they melted if you left them out in 95 degree weather too long (imagine: your car’s dashboard on a hot July day). Learning from the flaws of the initial batches, I began to refine my jewelry production methods and choose more durable materials. Eventually, I expanded my line to include handmade rings and necklaces, and continued to showcase and sell my work at various venues. I even sold a pair of earrings to Malaysian pop singer Yuna through Twitter – one of the perks of selling through social media! Three years later, reflecting on how my handmade earrings have become one of the most popular and unique products in the “Nadia J Art” retail line, I owe a lot to that curious passing comment my mentor made to me that day. It planted the seed for rethinking the conventional idea of a painter’s canvas. As a painter, I have worked on traditional surfaces such as canvas, linen and wood; I had never thought about an earring surface being my next canvas, but that’s exactly what it had become. My process involves pasting snippets of painting reproductions on pre-cut shapes of wood, then glazing them with coats of resin. Each earring front and back features a different detail from the same painting, aiming to create more aesthetic value. In essence, wearing a pair of handmade Nadia J Art earrings is like wearing a moment in a painting – a dangling canvas, as it were. COUPON ANNOUNCEMENT For our special London Link readers, here is a coupon code to receive 10% off any purchase of the Salaam Love Earring designs from Nadia J Art Etsy shop (shopnadiajart. etsy.com): COUPON: LondonLinkLove
Right: Salaam Peace staggered teardrop earrings by Nadia J Art
Above: Salaam Love cube earrings by Nadia J Art
Left: Yellow Salaam Love cube earrings by Nadia J Art
Below: Abstract Multicolored Necklace by Nadia J Art