Empowering Women by Teaching Jewelry Skills

by Jolanta Pawlak
(Curacao, Netherlands Antilles)

View of exhibition with artist photos and neck forms displaying handmade necklaces

My name is Jolanta Pawlak and I live and work as a jewelry artist on the small Caribbean island of Curacao.

An art gallery that often hosts exhibitions of my jewelry designs and new collections called Gallery Alma Blou has been actively training women in need of skills to create crafts and saleable items for tourists.

They have initiated workshops in jewelry making techniques.

The results have been creative and colorful necklaces and bracelets using recycled materials.

When they got ready for an exhibition to showcase their work they asked me for assistance in displaying the designs.

I referred to my archives of Rena Klingenberg newsletters and found a great pattern and instructions for creating neck form displays.

I also suggested that each artist become more personalized by having a large digital print of them wearing one of their creations and their signature to become part of the display.

I was amazed with the results all created with donated scrap from cutting mat boards in the gallery framing shop, a digital camera and donated color copies of the photo images using the artists as models and marking pens for the signatures.

The exhibition was a great success and now I am finding their work popping up in a variety of island locations specializing in selling high quality locally made creative items to tourists.

I even scheduled a day for them to visit and learn how I utilize the lost wax casting technique to create my designs.

My jewelry requires advanced training to master metalsmithing, stone setting and design techniques but it is great to see how simple skills in making jewelry can help transform these women's lives.

Anyone with ideas or items to donate to this amazing work would be most welcome.