Nadia Werchola
Nadia Werchola is an independent fine jewelry designer and jeweller from Toronto who has an absolute unique funky style we're fond of at Ruby Mardi!
Nadia has a background in Fine Art. She graduated with a Bachelors of Fine Art with a Studio Specialization from the University of Waterloo. She specialized in painting, drawing and printmaking and has a strong background in Art History and Classical Studies. She also graduated with honours from the three year Jewelley Arts program at George Brown College.
Nadia's jewellery collection begins with each unique gemstone. After carefully selecting only the most unusual cuts and colours, she transforms each gem by encasing them in her own raw, edgy, angular handmade settings. She enjoys using diamonds and gemstones like puzzle pieces to create contrast and structure in each little treasure. Nadia's work is inspired by ancient civilizations like the Egyptians, Romans, Persians and South Americans which gives her work a raw yet edgy and bold feel. Her work is also able to offer a feminine quality with delicate details, sparkling colours and a handmade touch. There is a regal quality to her work that fills the collection with an air of status and power. It is impossible to not take on some of that energy while wearing this work.
We're happy to present to you a short interview in which you'll learn about what inspires Nadia, what she loves and get a glimpse of who she is.
Who are the artists you love the most, who inspire you or accompany you? Do they influence your work, and if so, in what way?
This is such a hard question! I come from a fine arts background, so picking just one isn't possible!
If I had to pick my top few, I would have to say Andy Warhol, Leonardo DaVinci, Vincent Van Gogh and Helen Frankenthaler.
Andy Warhol
Andy I have always loved. My aunt and uncle have one of his cow prints and since I was young, I have loved it. I love that he played with what art is. That it didn't have to take forever to make, be expensive in its materials and that it can literally be anything. I love his colour combinations. I love that he used so much colour. I think that this might be the thing that influences me most, the colour. I love colour and playing with different and unexpected combinations. I think that when I think of Andy Warhol, I always think of his quote "Art is what you can get away with". That always sticks with me.
Vincent Van Gogh
Vincent Van Gogh, for me, is one of those artists that when I see his work in person, I get overwhelmed with emotion. It is extremely hard for me to not touch his works. Again, I love the colour and textures.
Leonardo DaVinci
Leonardo DaVinci taught me to draw. I love the way that he draws and how he dissects the world. More than his paintings, his sketches have always fascinated me. There is something about the simplicity of a line drawing that still shows the detail of what is being observed that is fascinating to me.
Helen Frankenthaler
Helen Frankenthaler's work is just so beautiful. Again, the colours are what draw me (you see a theme here?!). I love her combinations of colours and textures, blurred pools of colour with more solid shapes. There is something about her work that pulls me in and I can't stop looking.
I guess if you boil it down, the 4 of these individuals influence me in the way I see and work with colour and texture.
They influence my intentional detail in my work and my attention to the small details.
I want someone to hold each piece of jewellery and feel something, whether it is how much the person that gifted them the piece loves them or how much I love creating each piece doesn't matter.
I just hope each piece creates a feeling when you look at it.
Do you have any strategies for overcoming these obstacles?
This is a hard one for me. I'm struggling with this now! Sometimes I need to go somewhere to be inspired, like going on a trip to another city/country, or just to a museum or gallery.
Sometimes I just do other things for a while. Sometimes I draw or paint, sometimes I re-decorate my house or garden and sometimes I focus my energy on things that are completely unrelated to my work
Taking breaks is important. I can't always work, all day every day even though that's what being a business owner is.
If you could be reincarnated as a flower, which one would you choose and why?
I think that I would pick wild violets.
They are usually seen as weeds rather than the wild flowers that they are, but I love that they pop up every year (more than there were the previous year) and that they can flourish pretty much anywhere.
Do you have any guilty pleasures?
Not many people know this about me, but I am a huge Star Trek nerd. I love having literally any of the TV series (new or old) on in the background when I'm working.
Also popcorn, I can always have popcorn! The whole bag, one shot!
If you could meet one person from history, who would it be and why?
Cleopatra. I would love to dig through her jewellery box! Really, though, I would love to just sit and watch her go through a day. She seems like she was an incredibly smart woman that lived in a world where she shouldn't have been able to be who she was, but she did what she wanted, ruled well and did all the things that the world was telling her she wasn't capable of doing. She seems to have done everything with dramatic style.
Is there a movie you could watch on repeat and never tire of?
All of the Harry Potter movies or Lord of the Rings/The Hobbit (I consider these the same)!
Finally, what is your favorite museum (worldwide)?
Hmmmm, that's tough! I've been to a lot! I think that the most fascinating would be the Grant Museum of Zoology In London, England. But the most beautiful is th eBorghese Gallery in Rome (it holds a ton of Bernini Sculptures).
Thank you for sharing a little of yourself with us, Nadia!
