‘Mo Soul’ is the collection that jewellery designer Mihiri Devendra created in memory of a friend. “It was in memory of my friend, Mohan Ariyaratne who passed away due to cancer - he believed in my talent,” the designer says.
Launched in early April at the Kess Salon down Rosmead Place, Colombo 7, Mo Soul is drawn from nature. Frogs, birds and dragonflies are her trademark while the themes are a mix of both man and animals. Mihiri believes that man must be represented with and as a part of nature.
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| Mihiri Devendra. |
She first discovered her knack for jewellery designing at the Cora Abraham Art Classes (CASC), where her teacher Nalini Weerasinghe found her designs to be a cut above the rest. “She told me that my designs were intricate enough to be turned into jewellery,” says Mihiri. It must be in the genes for she is a fourth generation jewellery designer. “My mother, grandmother they all designed jewellery. I used to also paint - mostly stained glass.
After finishing her A’Levels Mihiri was keen to study jewellery design, but going abroad was not an option, and there weren’t many places in Sri Lanka that had courses in jewellery design at the time. She later found out about a course at the Technical College and joined it. “There I studied jewellery design under Mallika Hemachandra and later I trained in production and manufacture for three years. It’s after that that I began lecturing on jewellery design at the Academy of Design.”
“I have now been in the industry for over 20 years. I’m really lucky because it was a hobby or passion that has now turned into a profession,” she says.
Earlier Mihiri designed individual pieces for personal clients, as a specific need or an exclusive piece. She dubs her work ‘wearable art” because of the way she relates to the piece of jewellery she creates. “For me getting a piece made is the result of this rush of energy. I have this sudden urge to let it out and then I do.
I think like most designers, I focus on the design, the concept behind it. Creativity is what matters to me. I am not business minded, ” says a laughing Mihiri. “My friends help out with that. They really helped me pull this project through.”
The use of enamel is a prominent feature in her technique. The finishes vary from unpolished stone, polished silver and transparent glass to glossy enamel and rough textures. “I first wanted to name the collection ‘Leap’, but then later decided to launch it in memory of my friend.”
In this collection every piece has its story. The man with the clouds, the leaping frog, the glistening dragonfly, the man holding on to colour - they all have their special story. A number of semi-precious stones like lapis-lazuli and turquoise have been used, she adds.
Mihiri’s use of colour is spectacular. The technique of using powdered, coloured glass and its transformation during the heating process is interesting. For example in the pendant series of man in nature she has a piece inspired by a rock climber.
The outer lines of the rock and the figure of the climber are in silver. The colours are of the rock. Like in most pieces the colours are directly derived from nature and in this instance there is the use of blue, yellow and brown pigments.
The powdered, coloured glass has liquefied in the heat and even after the piece is cooled down there is a hint of beautiful flowing colour. In certain instances the liquid colours have merged creating stunning shades of greens and blacks.
Mihiri also has plans of starting up a store of her own and creating unconventional pieces based on local art traditions. “I love to look at the different crafts in Sri Lanka and want to experiment with bringing them out in jewellery, to study different techniques like lace and beeralu as a part of wearable jewellery.
I have plans of opening up a store of my own in the near future, where I would also try and create pieces with elements and material people throw away, like glass. I want to encourage and inspire up and coming jewellery designers to work with recycled material,” she says. |
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