The three jurors for the Emerging Artist Award -- Cindi Strauss, curator of Modern and Contemporary Decorative Arts and Design at The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Ron Porter, long-standing member of AJF and a collector of art jewelry; and Andrea Janosik, jewelry artist and recipient of the AJF's 2007 Award, reflect on the process of choosing this year's award recipient. Continued on our website...

Being honored as the AJF Emerging Artist helped me tremendously last year. Previously I made jewelry collections that I sold at craft shows only - they were mostly smaller pieces, focusing on easy wearability and a lower price point. When I put together the group of work with which I applied for the EAA, I compromised less, wanting the jewelry to be wearable, but 'art pieces' first. I wanted to make something I felt strongly about, disregarding whether it could be sold or not. This was a very fulfilling process, although I was taking bigger risks with no feedback. To get recognition from the AJF was gratifying on so many levels: It was a treat for hard work; it reassured me that I had done 'something right' and should further venture into the same direction; and it gave me confidence that my work was strong enough to approach galleries with. Being part of SOFA Chicago for the first time was an extremely motivating experience.

What I find is great about the EAA application is the amount of images that are requested. It isn't just one or two pieces being judged, but a large group that involves a lot more time, as well as addressing consistency, variation and the whole creative thought process. Not having a previous solo show is also a good criteria - it makes sure that the award is a real pat on the back. I would like to thank AJF again for the encouragement.

AJF: Congratulations Masumi on being named the Art Jewelry Forum Emerging Artist for 2008. There was a high level of competency exhibited by the entrants this year, but the jurors felt that your work distinguished itself. We are interested in your thoughts about your work.

MK: I am interested in emphasizing the intimate nature of jewelry as an object. In my previous work, I used human hair as a medium because I was interested in how the works blended into the body. These days I am using rawhide as my main material. In conjunction, I am researching word idioms that relate to the body, mostly in Japanese (my native language). The Gut Ball piece was the first one of the series and probably the most direct. Now, I am working more loosely and trusting my intuition more during the process. There are a lot of idioms in the Japanese language that relate to the gut and heart, since ancient Japanese people believed that feelings and emotions resided in those areas. Through my current body of work I am trying to visualize emotions into forms and thereby bring the inside outward, similar to how idioms function. However, my emotions are normally more complex and not as straight forward as such phrases. Also, lately I have been interested in visual symbolism, too.

AJF: Who or what have been influences in art that inform your work?

MK: Victorian Jewelry has been an influence when I started working with hair, and still is. I frequently look up word idioms and browse anatomy books as well as some fiction and everyday articles. I especially like Haruki Murakami's books. Sometimes, I find myself just reading his stories to see how he describes situations. Lately, our dog, Yuki has taught me how to work on rawhides. Also, there is a short essay that I re-read from time to time, by Mishima Yukio, called Beauty of Non-existence (Apollo no Sakazuki, Shincho pub. 1982). In it, he describes how language functions, specifically how it resides in its own unique space apart from the speaker and a described object. I often think how that may apply to my practice. continued...

"The Women of Metal exhibition and events in Whitewater were amazing. I hadn't realized the scope or importance of the project until I was there. The exhibition and catalog are beautiful. Sue Messer and Teresa Faris deserve thanks and admiration for conceiving this project and bringing it to fruition. The panel, moderated by Melanie Herzog, was the perfect prelude to the exhibition. Lisa Gralnick was her usual brilliant self and I enjoyed Teresa Faris's and Yegeniya Kaganovitz's input as well. Thank you for the support of the Art Jewelry Forum for this important venue." Eleanor Moty, University of Wisconsin, Madison