{"title":"Projects Underway","description":"\u003cp\u003eA curated selection of pieces currently in progress — explore jewelry and art works actively being made.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"blue-yosegi-zaiku-inspired-brooch","title":"Blue Yosegi Zaiku Inspired Brooch","description":"\u003cp data-end=\"2320\" data-start=\"2052\"\u003eMy acrylic pattern works are inspired by the Japanese marquetry tradition of \u003cspan class=\"hover:entity-accent entity-underline inline cursor-pointer align-baseline\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"whitespace-normal\"\u003eYosegi‑zaiku\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e. Historically, yosegi artisans laminate contrasting woods into patterned blocks and slice them into thin veneers that reveal intricate geometric designs.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-end=\"2633\" data-start=\"2322\"\u003eIn my work, I reinterpret this technique using colored acrylic instead of wood. By layering and assembling synthetic materials, I explore how light, color, and translucency transform traditional pattern structures. The pieces function as both material experiments and studies in rhythm, repetition, and balance.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-end=\"2633\" data-start=\"2322\"\u003eI think of this project as part historical study, part material experiment, exploring how traditional pattern systems can evolve through new mediums.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-end=\"2633\" data-start=\"2322\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-end=\"2633\" data-start=\"2322\"\u003edelving deeper into the project:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"margin-left: 22.5pt; tab-stops: 22.5pt;\" class=\"MsoListParagraph\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\" lang=\"EN-US\"\u003eAs a silversmith working out of Montreal I have been increasingly drawn to bold and playful colour.\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003eI have been working with traditional metal jewellery techniques starting in 2007 and have primarily used silver in my work.\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003eLooking for innovative opportunities to bring high impact colour to my work, I have been drawn to acrylic and incorporating a traditional Japanese woodworking technique called Yosegi-Zaiku.\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003eThis suits my fundamental style of intricate minimalism.\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e   \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"margin-left: 22.5pt; tab-stops: 22.5pt;\" class=\"MsoListParagraph\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\" lang=\"EN-US\"\u003eYosegi-Zaiku, a traditional Japanese woodworking craft, involves cutting thin sticks of wood at different angles and in varying colours.\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003eThe sticks are glued together in various combinations to form rods.\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003eThe rods are then glued together to form a repeating pattern block.\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e   \u003c\/span\u003eFinally, a wood working plane is used to cut thin slices from the top of the pattern block to decorate wooden objects such as puzzle boxes and sets of drawers.\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\" lang=\"EN-US\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"margin-left: 22.5pt; tab-stops: 22.5pt;\" class=\"MsoListParagraph\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\" lang=\"EN-US\"\u003eI have been drawn to Japanese art for many years.\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e   \u003c\/span\u003eI first visited the country in 2012 when my Canadian brother married a Japanese woman.\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003eI have continued to immerse myself in Japanese culture on subsequent trips; it is the heritage of my sister-in-law and nieces.\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003eDuring my most recent trip I was treated to a night at the Robot Restaurant, a dinner and variety show establishment (in the broadest sense of the words) in Tokyo.\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003eA way of poorly describing the experience is as a “monster laser extravaganza”.\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003eI have been inspired by the over-the-top kitschy innovation of the show I saw.\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e   \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"margin-left: 22.5pt; tab-stops: 22.5pt;\" class=\"MsoListParagraph\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\" lang=\"EN-US\"\u003eI want to marry the subdued art of Yosegi-Zaiku, part of what I call serene Japan, with the ecstatic light and colour show that is the Robot Restaurant, as a reflection of what I see as a dichotomy I see in Japan.\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e   \u003c\/span\u003eI want to use my skills as a jeweller to set thick slices of Yosegi-Zaiku made from sheets of recycled acrylic into pieces of jewellery as a representation of this observation.\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"margin-left: 22.5pt; tab-stops: 22.5pt;\" class=\"MsoListParagraph\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\"\u003e\u003cspan lang=\"EN-US\"\u003eMy “Techno Japan” pieces are\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan lang=\"EN-US\"\u003e a kind of 2 dimensional incipient Yosegi-Zaiku made from acrylic.\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003eI have been making pieces of jewellery with stripes of exuberantly coloured acrylic.  In January I started to research formal Yosegi-Zaiku and think about how to accomplish its complex patterns.\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003eI am at the initial stages of thinking about how to cut and construct the rods used to make up the patterns, as well as exploring how to best glue the pieces of acrylic together.\u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"elin weinstein","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47511045275835,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0706\/5288\/7227\/files\/63780deb-01d6-41ed-a11a-c4867dc2861f.png?v=1772818490"},{"product_id":"matrilineal-fascinator","title":"Matrilineal Fascinator","description":"\u003cp\u003e My matrilineal fascinator represents the women in my maternal lineage: my mother, two grandmothers, four great-grandmothers, and two great-great-grandmothers. The work honors the legacy, strength, and influence of the women who came before me\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e.I am creating a sculptural headpiece cast in white bronze that explores ancestry as a living constellation of memory. From the structure of the fascinator, a series of small forms appear to orbit the headpiece —miniature jewelry pieces and symbolic objects inspired by women of my maternal lineage. Each object functions as a piece of art representing a particular ancestor through motifs, materials, or stories told about her life by the family. These constellations radiate from the headpiece mapping lineage through fragments of adornment rather than through portraiture. The work suggests that identity is formed through generations of women whose presence continues to shape the present.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePart crown, part archive, the work treats jewelry as a cosmology of matrilineal memory—an unfolding galaxy of objects through which familial histories remain visible. In this way, the fascinator becomes a small cosmology—an orbit of objects through which matrilineal memory continues to expand.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"elin weinstein","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47547124973755,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0706\/5288\/7227\/files\/maquette_01.jpg?v=1777300039"}],"url":"https:\/\/elinweinstein.com\/collections\/projects-underway.oembed","provider":"elin weinstein","version":"1.0","type":"link"}