Monika Becker - Artist Statement

When an artist speaks of freedom, she or he is usually speaking of empowerment, and the inherent power within the creative process. The artist at work is channeling the same energies Nature uses in its own acts of creation. And these energies are more powerful than any other form of control waged over us. For this reason, in my own creative process I follow the examples set by the natural world around me. I never fight Nature's direction, but allow it to guide me.

Nature is opulent, elaborate, nurturing and bountiful. It can also be austere, gnarled, ancient, and wise, a vessel of many emotions. It is never wasteful or greedy, enslaving or self-injurious.

I strive in my jewelry and sculptural work to approach the level of expression I see in the natural world. The jewelry of my "Landescapism" series distill the enormous Canadian landscape into tiny precious objects of spirit. My sculptural vessels represent my attempt to recreate nature's tangle of glorious opulence, at once structured and chaotic. My chain designs are inspired by the long history of metal work, following a natural evolutionary path.

Every piece I make is an exercise designed to better understand our relationship with Nature, a relationship we may have tried to sever, but to which we will forever remain connected.