Today we’d like to introduce you to Layla Yanfeng Li.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I am a graduate student. And working on my MFA thesis collection, which discusses jewelry and psychological comfort. I come from Shanghai, China. My jewelry tour starts with Gem Identification; actually, it is my undergraduate major. I was in touch with many beautiful designs while identifying the stones on the jewelry. I usually enjoy some DIY crafts, and after seeing some interesting jewelry, it also sparked my interest in jewelry making. I started studying the basics of jewelry making on my own. After making a few samples, I began to think about what art jewelry is, what its value is, and how it differs from the unique jewelry of each era, and I applied to SCAD’s Jewelry Design program to find the answers during my studies.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It is certainly challenging. I love being challenged. Since my undergraduate studies didn’t involve jewelry design and production, I had to learn by attending lectures in design classes, looking through books on my own, and already attending workshops. Each of these ways has presented some problems. The timing of the lectures sometimes conflicted with my own classes, and the content of each was limited. There aren’t many books on jewelry, to begin with, and many of them aren’t easy to find. And workshops don’t take place in my city; I need to travel. At the same time, I realized during my graduate studies that many of the production skills I needed to research on my own as well. For example, in my thesis collection, I used window enameling, but I had to check the information and experiment by myself to know how to make it, and it was not accurate and often failed.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am still a student. I’m working on the thesis collection. The topic is Redirecting Emotions through Jewelry. Jewelry is a psychological healing tool; it creates an emotional connection with humans and becomes a bridge of human emotions without limitation of time and geographical location. Its healing power is able to affect on the creators, wears, and viewers. I summarize five elements that influence the establishment of Jewelry and emotion: materials, shapes, colors, wearability, and interactivity. I chose the jasmine flower, which symbolizes the promise of happiness. The choice of translucent white represents the alleviation of depression, anxiety, and irritability. Stainless steel mesh is a special material with the texture of fabric yet the durability of metal, much like the softness and strength of human emotions. The combination of the gray mesh and white jasmine depicts the integration of suffering and happiness experienced in life.
We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
Traveling. Since age four, my mother has insisted on taking nearly a month out of her year to travel to different places with me. This habit continued until I was in college. It was also a time period that I looked forward to every year. My mother preferred to take me to nature than to the city. Riding horses in the grassland, visiting the oasis in the desert, watching snow on the mountain tops, waiting for the sunrise by the sea, listening to the rain by the lake, and listening to the wind in the bamboo forest; each of these scenes is preserved in my mind like a painting. It’s really a very poetic life when I think about it now.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.laylaylijewelry.com/
- Instagram: @ laylayanfengli_jewelry
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/layla-yanfeng-li-a31a75190/
- Other: https://www.behance.net/yanfengli1?locale=en_US
Image Credits
Photographer : Qiuyi Zhang Model : Hairong Zhao
