Monica’s 9 Amazing Jewellery Design Offers!
On 18th of April 2022, we were delighted to spend some time with Monica S, a Year 13 student at Dulwich International High School Suzhou who has recently received an amazingly impressive collection of offers from some of the finest Arts Schools, in both the United Kingdom and The United States of America.
How did you decide that you wanted to study Jewellery Design?
Monica explained that she was drawn to jewellery design at an early age. As her understanding of fine art developed, she was able to feed this knowledge back into her designs:
"My intense passion for jewellery design was sparked at an early age. I used to tie crystal beads together by weaving them into rings, necklaces, with fishing lines to make simple jewellery. As I grew up, I started studying Fine Art, and got the opportunity to experiment with different art forms, which further inspired my insights into jewellery design.
Personally, jewellery design includes aesthetic design, material exploration, three-dimensional modelling, and artistic concepts. I believe jewellery exists as more than an ornament or a commodity, and is, in fact, a form of installation art that is worn on the body. I see jewellery as a form of portable artwork that you can carry or wear. I believe making jewellery creates a relationship between people and objects. I think jewellery only truly comes alive as a complete piece when someone wears it. "
How did you choose the Universities that you have applied for?
Monica told us that her choice of university was based on her requirement to be in the proximity of multiple art disciplines, so that she would be exposed to a wider range of art and gain inspiration from this diversity:
"I would like the school to have a quality standard of education in multiple art disciplines rather than specialising in one. This is because I like to make friends with people from different art disciplines, as they can often be a source of inspiration for me in a diverse range of ways."
Did the Dulwich CCA program play any part in your application?
Monica explained that her involvement with both the Dulwich Charity program, and Student led CCA’s formed a significant part of her university application.
"Art Without Boundaries (Dulwich charity program): My artistic inspiration was also received from different people's ideas, especially my experiences in charity, which further contributed to my insights into art. I made monthly visits to a suburban school, where I taught the children art-related knowledge and skills. During the period, I was able to learn to see the world from a more innocent, childlike perspective and incorporate this into my oil paintings and jewellery pieces. "
"Association of Art (student led CCA): I took part in the Association of Art, where we were free to share our own art opinions in school, such as the history and influence of art, as well as the works of different independent artists. By interacting with the students with distinctive styles and majors, I learned about other art majors such as fashion design, product design, illustration, and was inspired by these different art forms and combined them into my jewellery pieces. "
What hobbies and Interests do you have?
"I love reading manga, and I'm keen on collecting anime sculptures, staring at them for hours to observe their shapes, colours, and lines. The small sculptures deepened my interest in three-dimensional art forms, so I started to make my own small sculptures with clay."
What’s your favourite movie?
"I like documentaries and movies about war, like Schneider's List and La Vita è Bella.
After watching these videos, I started to make jewellery and paintings themed on the impact of war on people. I wish to remind society about the suffering people in war zones through my creation."
How do you think life at Dulwich has helped you be a better applicant?
"I am grateful to my former art teacher, Adam Kemp, and my current art teacher, Kathryn Lange, who taught me how to create artwork, allowed me to be bold in my ideas and gave me technical support and moral encouragement."
How did the Counselling department support you?
The University application process is a complex, highly involved and stressful task. Its always interesting to find exactly how our dedicated university counselling department has supported our students to reach such remarkable heights of university application success. Monica outlined exactly how Mr Hodgkin (Head of Counselling, Geography Teacher) supported her.
"Mr Hodgkin is very experienced. When I ask questions, he often responded to me from a variety of perspectives. He also allowed me to think about things from different perspectives and decide on my own. He gave me valuable advice and made the whole application process exceptionally smooth."
What advice do you have for younger students at Dulwich?
When our students achieve such astonishing levels of university application success, it’s always fascinating to see the insights that this unique perspective provides, in terms of the advice they have to offer younger students. Monica explained that the, for her success was all about finding her passion in life:
"If you come across a field that you like, let's say art, music, chemistry, etc., don't be afraid to do well. Don't be afraid that you won't be able to do it well enough to start getting into it, only after you've tried it will you have the opportunity to learn it in depth to explore it and do what you want to do in the future. It's a blessing to have something you love."
We wish Monica every success and look forward to seeing what she achieves with her thoughtful and considered approach to art and Jewellery design.