A short introduction to Yohari
This website and the collection of creations and jewelry that became Yohari are the result of many years of unexpected developments and surprises that life sometimes offers. But most and for all, they represent the outcome of early acquired skills and growing love for natural textures, living colors, and authentic materials that breathe the tradition of the many cultures that represent our human heritage.
When I started my creative work in 2010, it was merely a distraction from a stressed occupation as a scientist. And very soon what started as just a hobby became a true passion. Since then I have experimented with different mediums, tried out and mastered various techniques, followed international art workshops, met amazing people, and learned a lot about the world of crafts and its community.
From my early childhood on I could find much pleasure in knitting and crocheting. In those days girls were usually taught those skills at a quite early age and the feeling of soft wool sliding through your fingers and the pleasure of seeing a garment grow from your needles forever stays in your memory. That same pleasure emerged from working with other materials I discovered, that produce similar tantalizing tactile sensations. I’m still surprised to find what can be created by just using your fingers.
An evening walk at the lakeside
Living close to nature reminds me every moment of the beauty, but also of the vulnerability of our world. In my small way, I try to take care by using and re-using items and materials from fair, organic, and natural sources as much as I can. Sometimes, those materials, their origins, or their stories, can be a source of inspiration by themselves, adding to ideas for Yohari projects or objects that cross my mind.
Simple things can lead to unexpected pleasure, like waste bottles that turn into colorful artifacts or used mirrors from a flea market that get a second life as an artistic decoration rather than a mere utensil. Or pieces of scrap sari silk that almost spontaneously turn into exotic bracelets.
And then there always is polymer clay, that plastic malleable mass that allows you to create any shape or mimic any material you like and that challenges you to stretch your imagination a bit further every time again.
As a result, Yohari is a mix of media and materials, of ideas and expressions, of crafts and skills that mingle into an artistic adventure, which outcomes fill this website.
Here, I would like to share with you the insights, experiences, inspirations, and discoveries from my journey into the world of craft. On Yohari, you also will find short stories and tutorials on how some of my pieces have been created as well as lots of useful and interesting information and links I came across over the last few years.
I hope you enjoy it
Yours, Jana