Introducing - Zane Lavrinovica

Name: Miss Zane Lavrinovica,
Emai: @Zane_Lavrinovica

I am 25 years old girl from Latvia. My name is Zane Lavrinovica. Next year
I shall graduate from the Latvian Academy of Fine Arts with B.A. degree. My
speciality is jewelry design. Before the Academy I studied in the Applied
Arts College in silversmiths department.In the Academy of Fine Arts we have
a decent general arts programme including drawing, painting, sculpture and
design. What I lack most is practical experience in contemporary jewelry
making techniques, especially working with gold and stone setting. The
workshops at the college and Academy are rather poor and outdated. The same
could be said about my home studio. Under the Soviet rule working with
silver and gold was limited to state enterprises and artists could work
only underground. No equipment was sold and thus all tools were hand-made.
So up till now allmost all art projects were done in non-precious metal.The
only gem generally available was amber. Now the situation has changed and
we are free to work as we wish, buy any metal and gemstones we can afford.
Unfortunately Latvia is a small country and there is no supplier of
jeweller’s tools here yet. I have bought some in Great Britain and U.S.A.
by mail order. This should serve as an introduction to my problem. I wonder
if there is a chance to improve my skills in some Western country. As much
as I know all schools for jewellers are private and costly. I could
probably get enough funds for travel expenses but not for studies. Maybe I
can work for some time in a private study to learn something and earn
enough to support myself? I should appreciate any suggestions that could
help me to learn more of jewelry design and techniques. I can send pictures
of some jewelry pieces I’ve made for study and for sale. Please excuse my
style. I have no experience with e-mail. English is the only foreign
language I speak.

I can be reached by fax +371-7820108 or e-mail: @Zane_Lavrinovica