About Drakonaria
About Drakonaria |
"La Nature est un temple où de vivants piliers
Laissent parfois sortir de confuses paroles;
L'homme y passe à travers des forêts de symboles
Qui l'observent avec des regards familiers."
Charles Baudelaire, "Correspondances"
Creating beautiful things has always been for me something more than just using a pair of nimble hands and eyes. It’s a process, in which the fleeting world of imagination intertwines with matter, creating a solid form, which can inspire joy, delight, curiosity or surprise, which in turn influence other worlds of imagination…
From that creative interaction of dreams, emotions and Nature's treasures Drakonaria was born. A brand of unusual jewellery, for those who look for a little bit of daily magic, in an intricate, sculptural form.
Drakonaria features jewellery inspired by Nature. It is her, whom I watch and admire each day, who fills my head with ideas, feelings and impressions I want to enchant within my jewelry. The madness of autumn leaves, the aroma of flowers, light shining through a jar of honey, or the sight of a bright full Moon in the dark sky – these are my inspirations.
I often look at Nature through the eyes of ancient cultures and legends. I rediscover old myths, travel through forgotten lands, reach out to deeply rooted archetypes, which are nowadays remembered by few. Those ‘expeditions’ into the world of literature or ancient art allow me to capture in my jewelry not only the beauty of Nature inspired form, but also a pinch of old magic, a drop of longing for the past and, what’s most important – ideas, which were born in the ancient times, but are still relevant. Ideas, which can be reinterpreted and remain alive.
Alchemy
Drakonaria's jewellery is made using both traditional and alternative techniques of working with sterling silver, gold or brass. First I sketch my design and then I move to hand sculpting the prototype, using metal clay or lost wax technique. It's a very intensive, painstaking work, both physically and emotionally. While making these tiny sculptures, I try to convey not only a form, but also an atmosphere of what I have in my mind.
Creation of such prototype can take as long as a few weeks. In my creative work I don't like to rush and I don't accept compromises. I love really tiny, intricate details which are trademark of my designs. This takes a lot of time and care.
When the tiny sculpture is ready it is then turned into metal using lost wax technique. The next step is finishing the piece using traditional jewellery making techniques – creating and soldering stone settings and other additional elements, pickling, oxidizing, polishing, and - at the very end – setting beautiful stones. Each piece of jewellery leaving my workshop is made with the utmost care, to make sure that all the intricate details and lovely gems will please the eye and bring joy to the soul for many, many years.
My name is Anna Mazoń and I am the owner of Drakonaria brand and the designer behind all jewellery you can see on this website. I’ve always loved to express myself in many ways, in dance, photography, graphics or poetry, but I didn’t come across jewelry making until 2008. This was an amazing discovery, which turned my life upside down.
Even though I graduated from sociology and psychology, I decided to start a business and work with what has become my passion – designing jewelry and organizing workshops (you can learn more about workshops with me here). Now I can give vent to my creativity and do what I love the most – make tiny, sculptural, wearable forms which can be worn every day, becoming little personal treasures.
In my spare time I enjoy hiking, reading good SF and fantasy books, dancing, birds, especially birds of prey and having good company by the fire, in Nature.I love looking into the sky and wondering about various mysteries of the Universe. I live the way I like, I do what I love and I want to share it with others.
You can learn more about me on a website of my another artistic project www.annamazon.com
You will find there one of a kind, sculptural jewellery which tells stories through a little bit darker, more experimental form.
