Sylvia Derňárová
Oľga Obertová, Anna Valterová and Katarína Revová – three successful jewellery artists whose work is linked with ÚĽUV, gave us an exclusive look behind the scenes, talking about pros and cons of this exceptional craft. Oľga Obertová enrolled with, and finished, several ÚĽUV’s courses. However, it was jewellery that eventually fascinated her most. For this reason, she further attended wire art courses, becoming, later on, a cofounder of the Džarek Club, uniting artists who make use of traditional as well as contemporary wire art techniques. At that time, she was self-employed, producing hand-made works of art for a living. However, as her cooperation with ÚĽUV grew, she eventually found a full-time employment with us. In 2011, she was awarded a Folk Art Production Master title. She finds inspiration everywhere and anywhere, turning to her surroundings. If something catches her eye, she can straightaway picture it as an object made of wire, or as a piece of jewellery. She finds eternal inspiration in folk ornaments and traditional techniques that she subsequently uses as her resources. Anna Valterová is another outstanding jewellery artist. She was awarded the prestigious Master of Folk Art Production title in 2004, after ten years of engaging in her craft. Here in ÚĽUV, we know her especially as an Easter egg artist, decorating Easter eggs with wire. As she previously used needle lace to decorate Easter eggs, it occurred to her to transform some of the wire art patterns and techniques to jewellery. That was the birth of her jewellery art. The third jewellery artist cooperating with ÚĽUV is Katarína Revová, an accomplished violinist. When she had lost her job, she started spending more and more time in a workshop, learning about wood and metal. Today, her jewellery art means a great deal to her – it has become both her job and her hobby. She specialises in jewellery made of wood, or jewellery made of wood in combination with forged surgical wire. Little by little, she became involved in wire jewellery. Enjoying folk ornaments that she uses for her wire, tin and wood art, she finds inspiration in folk art.