As an extension of the ‘Hong Kong Students Design Competition on Fei Cui Jewellery in Celebration of the 20th Anniversary of the Reunification of Hong Kong with China’, a seminar-and-workshop programme ‘An Enlightening Journey of Creativity’ was organised by the Hong Kong Jewellery & Jade Manufacturers Association (HKJJA) on 5 August 2017 at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
In the morning section, world-renowned jewellery artist Wallace Chan spoke to over 200 guests about jewellery, design and culture. During the seminar, Chan shared his personal growth, perspectives on gemstones, creativity, cultural inherence and the future of jewellery design and making.
Growing up in poverty, Chan dropped out of school at a young age and became an apprentice sculptor in 1973, which marked the beginning of his lifelong journey in jewellery exploration and creation. He shared that during the making a hollow crystal globe for the sarira stupa of Fo Guang Shan, Taiwan, the material kept cracking during the sculpting process; at least he succeeded in solving the problem by changing the structure of the material with high heat. Besides, during the development of ‘Wallace Cut’, he faced the problem of high heat generated by the high-speed rotation of the tools he invented damaging the gemstones. At last he came up with the idea to carry out the carving in water to reduce the temperature.
He always remembers a quote of Thomas Edison: “I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.” He encouraged young jewellery designers and students to adopt a humble attitude and engage in the actual process of jewellery making instead of focusing on design only. By learning different techniques it will enable designers to seek new approaches to tackle design obstacles and communicate with materials by building emotional connections, he said.
Regarding business development, Chan said he did not spend time on developing a brand as you may end up being confined by it. In his view, as long as you can perfect each piece of work and do your best in every moment, your creation will take you to the world you desire to go.
Facing the rapid development of technology, Chan stated that jewellery designers should embrace technology and grow with it. “Will human beings be marginalised by artificial intelligence in future? In such case, we will need to be more creative,” he commented. “No one can stay away from technology. We need to keep an open mind and utilise it in jewellery design and making.”
The afternoon programme was designed for students interested in jewellery design and was first hosted by Ho Koon Wan, executive director of Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Creative Centre, who briefly introduced the properties, colours, emotional attraction, categories and appreciation standards of fei cui to over a hundred student audience. Ho reminded them that the focus of the competition should not be to compete against other contestants but it is an opportunity for participants to outperform themselves. He emphasised that jewellery design always involve meaning and shape; no matter what kind of design students want to use, they must first have a target customer in mind and then concentrate on a design focus that could represent themselves.
After that, Gucci Wong, chief jewellery designer of Rio Pearl and Maggie Ma, founder of Violets Jewellery Company shared with students the key to designing fei cui jewellery by showcasing several original fei cui jewellery sketches and explaining step by step how to combine ideas and materials. Lastly, students completed their own design sketches with the assistance of about 10 jewellery designer volunteers.
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