I am an Auckland based artist working mainly in the field of contemporary jewellery since 2004, based at shared studio, Workshop6.
Jewellery continues to fascinate me for its power to express ideas and thoughts in the physical realm and the ability to communicate on both a personal and public level. Through making and teaching I strive to connect, share skills and investigate what we value, how we engage with each other and our environment.
Through Handshake I plan to work on drawing together the elements of my practice, including jewellery, sculpture, collaboration and community based projects; to distill the what, how, who, where and why.
Mia’s mentor is Manon van Kouswijk.
Mia Straka‘s posts:
Data Structure
Pictographs and data structure, a daily diary over three months… finding the way.
Everything wants to be a necklace
Practicing NOT making jewellery NOT using metal To move beyond where I’m at It’s a challenge Everything wants to be a necklace Collecting, Deconstructing, Reconstructing A double sided homemade cardboard loom with a built in hole Site for experimental...
Bubble, Struggle, Breathe and Weave
This past month we have moved beyond full lockdown, after the dissolution of my bubble I shifted back to my flat and set up my home studio again. Now I am able to get back into my shared workshop. Manon and I had our first face to face meeting via Zoom two days ago, I...
Net Connections
My first interactions with Manon have been via email, introducing my practice with images and writing as the world closes borders and our bubbles cope as best we can behind closed doors.
Mia Straka‘s images:
Interconnected Planetary Heartstrings necklace 2018, stg, cu, brass, patina. Pendant Dimensions H80mm x W80mm x D25mm. Image courtesy of Fingers Jewellery.
Ouroboros neckware, 2018. Re-used electrical wire L450mm W350mm D150mm. Schmetterlinge exhibition leading on from Berlin i.a.m.tk residency 2018.
The Valere Talisman Project -image from Radiant Pavilion 2017- is an ongoing, interactive, social object project, aimed at questioning and re-affirming a universal code of human rights in a climate of rising global xenophobia and mass population movements. The project aims to encourage more connected, inclusive communities through a sense of personal accountability, collective empowerment and trust.
Talisman3 Installation at Tempfest 2019, Whakanewha Regional Park, Waiheke, NZ.
Building paper, paint, cotton. Together with those present at Tempfest we hung 50 Values banners in the trees at Whakanewha park, a small gesture in acknowledgement of the 50 lives lost in the Christchurch mosque attacks on March 15th 2019.
Valere Talisman neckpiece, 2018. Brass, silk and cotton cord. L1000mm x W73mm x D73mm.
Valere Talisman is comprised of twenty-three scrolls, each stamped inside with a different word drawn from tikanga Māori and a global values survey. By wearing the talisman, the intention is to bring the values into being through mindful action. empowerment and trust. Image courtesy of Fingers Jewellery.
Fine Company jewellery installation at Corban Estate Art Gallery 2015, (Oma)
‘Straka’s constellation of neckpieces hangs from a rattan basketry cane structure that also references Pacific navigational stick charts. The structure translates as a star map orientated within the gallery to the four cardinal directions in relation to the Southern Cross star formation. Similarly Straka’s neckpieces map and track her research across cultures’ (excerpt of exhibition text courtesy of CEAC).
