Presented diploma thesis is devoted to the analysis of the female graves of the La Tène period in Bohemia, more particularly it relates to quantity, material and placement of every objects of the grave goods. Observed variability indicates time, regional and in some mesure social differences which influenced the composition of the grave set. Within the comparison, the graves from Moravia, Slovakia and Austria have been also taken into consideration.

This paper looks at how I as a jeweller can use my craft knowledge to raise awareness of environmental issues. In our society we are informed on a daily basis how elevated average temperatures, melting glaciers and forest fires affect and will affect our future, but also future generations’ living conditions on earth. Despite this, most of us just try to live our lives as usual. But all this information worries me, mostly for the future of my children, and I don’t know how to relate to it. I think about what inheritance I will leave behind. In this paper, I explore how I, in my role as a jewellry artist, can contribute to the discussion about the climate. To investigate this, I use theories of semiotics and visual communication as a frame for my work and I have chosen to dig where I stand and use work methods that I can find at home, but which I can also link to my profession as a jeweller. I have collected plastic  packaging that is the result of my family’s consumption. With this as a starting point, I have created plastic stones that leads my thoughts to future fossils and the Anthropocene era. My main tool has been the iron, with which I have achieved heat and a certain pressure to mimic the conditions under which minerals in nature are created. The plastic stones were made into brooches and the work has finally resulted in pictures where my children wear the brooches I have made of our common waste. Both the brooches and the images are linked to the theoretical framework of the paper.

Now and then other people’s comments and/or behaviour reminds me that I look different and that my external features are connected to something beyond my Swedish identity. My black hair, dark brown eyes and my brownish skin color talk about something else. My appearance is connected to an identity, cultural identity and a country I have little knowledge of and a language I do not master. But still the way I look is a part of my heritage, a part of who I am and a part of me which I am proud of. It makes me wonder what actually makes up an identity and the power we all possess in deciding what or who another person is based on appearance. What do we become in the eyes of the beholder? Personal experiences from being Swedish, and adopted from another country, becomes the starting point for my investigation where the color of the skin leads to questions about norms, categorisations and the power of labelling another person. Living in the western world, my skin color automatically place me outside the norm. In a way that amazes me, that a single color can determine so much. As a jeweller maker in this degree project I make brooches. I use them as a method and as tools to both investigate the relationship between personal and social identity and to shed light on how structures in society and other peoples gazes push us into categories consciously and unconsciously. I use my objects as conversations pieces to reflect on history, present and future, from my perspective. There is always a beginning, but it is  in the middle of the process it all comes alive. This is where I explore material, techniques and methods and where the brooches are born. They all have a history and part of it is public. At first sight you see the surface. But the brooches are like our bodies, they also have an inside/backside which creates an intimate relationship with the wearer. The brooches are more than ornamented pins, I want them to raise awareness of diversity, different perspectives, care and their ability to communicate as they move through various places attached in different ways to the body. My degree project, Who I am and who you see, touches upon questions and emotions about belonging, inclusion and exclusion and the state of being in-between. What makes up an identity? What different parts make up a whole? Which layers are added and which are peeled off? All these questions triggers my curiosity and search for more knowledge about the human being and being human.

My personal history and the stories of people with similar experiences have inspired my degree project. It revolves around the feeling of belonging when moving from one place to another, adapting to the new environment (e.g. culture, language, etc.), and yet staying in between. It's about the notion of home in the time of migration.  I want to capture the ideas of places and identity transformation through materiality. The tree is very human-like living material. I bend the wood, and, while doing so, it follows my moves and adapts to changed conditions. The tension and force create the shape, and the unfolded pieces become traces of my body movements.  I see the sculptures from the jeweler´s perspective, the performative and interactive pieces invite the viewer to participate.  In my smaller-scale series of work, I continue my materials research narrowing down my investigation from the body to my hands. The pandemic situation increases my awareness of touching and longing for real contact with people. I select a group of found and given to me objects which evoke memories of people and places I have been. By wrapping them into a metallic textile I create imprinted empty space. It becomes a container which questions what is left behind when someone is gone or something is taken away.  I place the handprints and the tree rings in parallel. Both are strong identification symbols. The wood rings mark the conditions in which. the tree grows, forming a unique sign language that visually explains the whole history of the tree.  Do people´s fingerprints change when they move from one place to another?

Yes / The biographical approach has been applied to many studies of European prehistoric metal­ working which frequently discuss the potential for recycling metalwork through melting to create new objects, drawing influence from the many ‘founders hoards’ known from across Europe. An agglomerate of half ­molten bronze objects from Switzerland suggests that such recycling practices occurred there, although previous archaeometallurgical analysis has indicated that such practices were temporally limited. This article focuses on an alternative form of recycling — the direct conversion of one object into another through cutting and reshaping — observed on several razors from Late Bronze Age (LBA) lake ­dwelling contexts in Switzerland. Atypical decorative motifs on these razors identify them as having been cut from arm­ or leg­ring jewellery pieces. It is suggested that these ‘ring­razors’ were valued as individualized objects and created as personal mnemonic devices. / Swiss National Science Foundation

Thesis (MA (VA)(Visual Arts. Jewellery Design))--University of Stellenbosch, 2006. / In this thesis I concern myself with a rather particular process of making jewellery – a creative process which epitomises repetitive, labour-intensive and timeconsuming actions, results in an “optimal” experience (Csikszentmihalyi 1990) and leads to meticulous and refined products. In dealing with this process I present its conceptual framework which I understand as a sequence of physical, mental and emotional elements through which I move from fascination (the initiating factor of the process) to product (a concrete and legitimising by-product of the process). As I progress from fascination to product, I move through the distinct, yet interwoven stages of ideation, planning and preparation, production, meditation, incubation and insight. These stages, together with fascination and product, constitute a continuous, three-dimensional spiralling form which characterizes the conceptual structure of my process. Within that conceptual structure, I differentiate between the phase of decisionmaking and the “experiential” phase (here signifying “to experience”). The former phase comprises the stages of ideation, planning and preparation, and production; whereas the latter phase stretches over the stages of production, meditation, incubation and insight. I define decision-making as a sequential thought-process and distinguish between an open-ended and a highly restricted or defined type of decision-making. The open-ended type takes the form of free experimentation and dominates the stage of ideation, leading to those ideas which I choose to translate into concrete jewellerypieces. As I move from ideation to planning and preparation, and subsequently to production in developing and implementing my idea, I increasingly make use of the restricted type of decision-making in the form of relying on previously accumulated knowledge and experience. Understanding decision-making as “a logical process leading to a conclusion” (Loy 1988:146), I interpret decision-making in general, and the restricted type in particular, in terms of the philosophical notion of dual thoughtprocesses, based on the causally and sequentially linked elements of decision-making. As the stage of production progresses, the dual thought-processes of decisionmaking are increasingly relegated to my sub-conscious. Consequently, my consciousness is free to engage in what I refer to as meditation, as a result of which I move into the experiential phase of my process. My meditative state of mind can be ascribed to non-dual, spontaneous and random thought-processes which bring with an atmosphere of incubation out of which insights arise. As a result of my non-dual mind-set I experience both my thinking and my acting during meditation as non-dual, accumulating or resulting in an exhilarating, overtly positive, worthwhile and fulfilling experience. Even though this experience acts as a motivation for engaging in the process and is therefore of enormous significance, the tangible product of the process does serve a legitimizing function as it endows my almost excessively time-consuming and labour-intensive acts with purpose. However, as a result of the input of enormous amounts of personal energy over prolonged time-spans my process leads to an intimate relationship between my products and me, causing a dilemma and paradox as I struggle to let go of my jewellery-pieces.

This thesis focuses on the issue of body decoration, its meaning and function in culture and society. Main interest of this thesis is aimed on jewellery and its field of the visual state. Thesis divides main issue into following points: selection of the main functions of each kind of jewellery, material and technology, world point of view of cultures, main principles of its order, and main thematic fields. At the end of the thesis is briefly sketched changing approach to the genuine author jewellery. Thesis includes examples based on jewellery history accompanied by pictures and drawings. European tradition is stressed throughout all thesis. The thesis aims on the issue of cultural and social background and its influence on visual state of jewellery. The didactical part includes description of the possibilities in the field of pedagogical activity in the field described in the main part of paper.

Thesis (MA (VA)(Visual Arts))--University of Stellenbosch, 2009. / The purpose of the thesis is to contextualise my art works in theoretical terms. As counterpart to my art practice and consistent with its subject matter, the thesis deals with the handbag as subject and investigates the formation of an idiomatic, metaphorical or symbolic visual language that emerges in my handbag Collections. The thesis traces how such language pertains to social, cultural and personal history as sources of its conception to also serve as foundation for the conception of my art works. Its central questions are formulated around ‘how’, thus investigating the formative, the developmental and the process. Its thinking is relativist, embracing the belief that no option is absolute, but rather as susceptible to change as it is open to interpretation. As events of change and change inducing events, developmental processes are posed in a framework of generative structuralism that comprises the internalisation of externalities and the externalisation of internalities. As such it structures an attempt to define the genesis of my aesthetic idiolect in and from a cultural context. The thesis therefore posits its secondary aims as investigative rather than determinist of how social and cultural context informs my art-making processes and how generation and development occur in my art-making processes in order to determine how these factors contribute to a personal voice becoming evident in my work. My art practice and art works serve as primary sources of information and the thesis partially serves as a process of textual re-articulation of my own art-making practices to reveal the relationships between habitus as generative structure, enaction of identity and aesthetic idiolect.

Thesis (MA (VA))--Stellenbosch University, 2012. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This thesis investigates the manner in which the function of jewellery (in both the wearing and owning of it) is complementary to the value, meaning and definition of jewellery. The function of jewellery can be regarded as two-fold, consisting of both a physical and social function. The physical function of a jewellery piece entails the way in which it is worn and the manner in which the piece is utilised. The social function of jewellery is not only the status or identity that the jewellery represents, but also how jewellery can symbolise and stimulate relationships. An investigation of the physical function of jewellery is undertaken by deconstructing archetypical jewellery pieces. This illustrates what characteristics define an object as a jewellery piece and show how some archetypical jewellery pieces may appear to be seemingly universal, timeless and natural. The social function of jewellery is investigated by considering the relational aesthetics of jewellery and thus showing how jewellery can testify and give rise to relationships. This study also sheds light on the way in which contemporary jewellery can question value systems. The research includes the designing, making and discussing of contemporary jewellery. The primary research for the thesis is formed by a discussion of my art pieces and is supported by theoretical research. In the conclusion of this study it is clear that jewellery can assume multiple definitions and meanings. These definitions and meanings are not only determined by the designer and maker of the jewellery piece, but also by the wearer/ owner and the viewer as well as the context within which the jewellery piece is worn or displayed. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: In dié tesis word daar ondersoek ingestel oor hoe die funksie van juweliersware (in beide die dra en besit daarvan) die waarde, betekenis en definisie van juweliersware aanvul. Die funksie van juweliersware kan beskou word as tweevoudig en bestaan uit beide ’n fisiese- en ’n sosiale funksie. Die fisiese funksie van ʼn juweelstuk behels hoe dit gedra word en hoe die juweelstuk funksioneer. Die sosiale funksie van juweliersware word nie net beskou as die status of identiteit wat juweliersware voorstel nie, maar ook hoe juweliersware verhoudings simboliseer en stimuleer. ‘n Ondersoek na die fisiese funksie is uitgevoer deur argetipiese juweliersware te dekonstrueer. Só word daar gewys watter soort eienskappe ʼn voorwerp as ʼn juweelstuk definieer en hoe sekere argetipiese juwele as skynbaar universeel, tydloos en natuurlik voorkom. Die sosiale funksie van juweliersware is ondersoek deur te kyk na die estetiese verwantskappe van juweliersware, en só te wys hoe juweliersware kan getuig en aanleiding gee tot verhoudings. In die studie word daar ook uitgelig op watter wyse kontemporêre juweliersware waardesisteme kan bevraagteken. Die navorsing behels die ontwerp, maak en bespreking van kontemporêre juweliersware. Die bespreking van my kunswerke vorm die primêre navorsing van die tesis en word ondersteun deur teoretiese navorsing. Na afloop van die studie is dit duidelik dat juweliersware veelvoudige definisies en betekenisse kan aanneem. Dié betekenisse en definisies word nie net bepaal deur die ontwerper en maker nie, maar ook deur die draer/ eienaar en toeskouer asook die konteks waarin die juweelstuk gedra of vertoon word.

Det allt mer digitaliserade samhället innebär att företag har valt att satsa på marknadsföring på sociala medier. Instagram som har blivit en mycket populär plattform för visuellt skapande och kan användas av företag för att förmedla sin identitet samt för att vinna konkurrensfördelar och marknadsandelar. Eftersom plattformen ofta används som ett tanklöst socialt medium har företagen inte lång tid på sig att fånga konsumenternas uppmärksamhet. Det blir därför av stor vikt för företag att sticka ut på plattformen och förmedla en stark identitet så de inte hamna i skuggan av andra bilder som publiceras på forumet varje dag.   Studien hade som mål att undersöka hur väl bilder på Instagram reflekterar smyckesföretags identitet, samt hur bilder kan medverka till att bygga identitet. Eftersom ett fåtal smyckesföretag har kapacitet eller personal att genomföra och utforma en effektiv designstrategi samt då de saknas tidigare studier inom detta område, är de viktigt att undersöka denna bransch. De smyckesföretag som studien behandlat är Sophie by Sophie, Malin Ljung Jewellery, Caroline Svedbom Jewellery, Drakenberg Sjölin och Guldfynd.   Metoden som användes är kvalitativ undersökning och inkluderade semi-strukturerade intervjuer. Intervjuerna bestod av två olika moment, där första momentet innebar att respondenterna fick svara på frågor gällande användningen av Instagram samt som marknadsföringsplattform. Under andra momenten fick respondenterna studera olika bilder av de fem smyckesföretagens Instagramkonton samtidigt som de fick besvara frågor.   Studien bidrog till slutsatser som att begreppet identitet var ett brett begrepp som var svårt att definiera. Respondenterna ansåg att enbart ett av företagen utstrålade sin identitet, de övriga lite eller inget alls. Det fanns flera likheter och skillnader i hur estetiken uppfattas men färger, personer och smycken på bilderna, vardagliga- och studiobilder, bildkomponering samt materialval var vad som oftast kommenterades. / The increasingly digitized society means that companies have chosen to invest in marketing on social media. Instagram has become a very popular visual creation platform and can be used by companies to convey their identity and gain competitive advantage and market share. Since the platform is often used as a thoughtless social medium, companies do not have much time to catch the consumers’ attention. It will be of great importance for companies to stand out on the platform and convey a strong identity so that they do not end up in the shadow of other images published on the forum every day. This thesis goal was to investigate how well images on Instagram reflect the identity of jewellery companies, and how images can contribute to building an identity. Since a few jewellery companies have the capacity or staff to implement an effective design strategy and since it lacks previous studies in this area, it is important to investigate this industry. The jewellery companies that are in this thesis is Sophie by Sophie, Malin Ljung Jewellery, Caroline Svedbom Jewellery, Drakenberg Sjölin and Guldfynd. The used method is qualitative examination and included semi-structured interviews. The interviews consisted of two different moments, where the first moment meant that the respondents answered questions regarding the use of Instagram and as a marketing platform. During other moment, the respondents were asked to study different images of the five jewellery companies' Instagram accounts while they answered questions. The thesis contributed to the conclusion that the concept of identity was a broad concept that was difficult to define. The respondents considered that only one of the companies expressed their identity, the others expressed little or nothing at all. There were several similarities and differences in how aesthetics perceived but colors, persons and jewellery in the pictures, every day and studio images, image composition and material selection were the most commented.