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Wayan Sarjana

Under the tutelage of his uncle, Wayan Sarjana has fine-tuned his silversmithing skills to become one of the most talented and innovative craftsmen in his village.

Sarjana, an amateur historiographer, returns to his roots for inspiration. He elaborates on ancient Indonesian designs to create elegantly unique silver jewelry.

"I was born on the island of Bali in the year of 1970. I am the eldest of three children from a family of artists, but I was the first in my family to work with silver.

"I started to learn at the age of fifteen as an apprentice in my village with a man called I Nyoman Regig. He was a good but strict teacher. If I made one piece just a little bit wrong he would be so angry with me, but he also taught me how to work under stress and short time limits. A good foundation if you ask me!

"After five years I started on my own to produce original pieces that I sold to local shops. And slowly I was able to save enough money to make my own workshop at home, where I work still today.

"My main inspirations come from nature and daily life. Flowers and animals are my favorite subjects, but sometimes-abstract geometrical shapes come into my mind, even though they are inspired strongly by nature originally.

"Silver is not an easy medium to work with here, because the price changes all the time, but I cannot imagine doing anything else.

"I am happy and very grateful to the team at Novica, because they help me to promote my work outside Bali and they are supportive of my ideas and understanding in regards to the different aspects of being a silversmith.

"I hope that the people around the world enjoy my work and that it if there is anything I can do with my talent to contact me through Novica."