Description

Mihaela Coman’s Shopping Bag Brooch with double pin is a unique, one-off design. The distinctive piece is cast in silver and attaches to clothing with steel pins. It is part of Mihaela’s series Such a Waste.

Mihaela is an independent jeweller who lives in North Norfolk. She is one of our GroundJewels selected artists.

She creates enchanting jewellery and as a maker seeks to engage with the wearer, offering a portal to her world. Mihaela uses jewellery as a means to tell stories:

“Narrative jewellery is most helpful, because it can be figurative and allows me to play with objects and people in the most direct way”.

Telling Stories with Jewellery

Each collection portrays a different narrative, and each item of jewellery is a unique, one-off piece. Project titles include “Childhood Memories” of Communist Romania “The Burden of the Past” and “Such a Waste”. We can relate to her compelling narratives through prosaic objects such as apple cores, shopping bags and line drying clothes earrings. Mihaela’s talent is to commemorate these everyday objects in precious metal.

Playfulness and Profundity

Mihaela poignantly embodies sorrow and humour in her jewellery, offering both playfulness and profundity. As part of her series ‘What A Waste’ she created the Shopping Bag Brooch. The delightful little silver bag is an apposite commentary on consumerism. Mihaela reminds us of the ecological crisis by “a symbol of the movement, the plastic bag”. At the same time we appreciate her ironic allusion to the “status, expensive bag”.

About Mihaela

Mihaela grew up in Romania and lived there until recently. Then, when her daughter left for the UK, Mihaela decided to follow. She left her job in Bucharest and began a masters course in Jewellery at the University for Creative Arts. In 2019 she graduated and next year she will begin her PhD at Edinburgh College of Art .

Overall, Mihaela has created the perfect medium for her artistic expression:

“Empowered by the freedom of expression that jewellery can offer, I hope that my work is an authentic, sincere and honest expression of my ideas and emotions.”