Ana Marchetanu won the Autor Awesome Award (AAA) trophy at the 14th edition of AUTOR Fair, in November 2015. The AA Award has brought Ana two weeks of training at the most famous jewellery school in Europe, Alchimia, in Florence, that meant for Ana a life-changing experience and brought along a new understanding of art jewellery. Just after her return from Alchimia, Ana has told us all about her experience in a special interview.
How would you describe the Alchimia experience?
Intense. You iterate the first concepts as fast as engineers at a start-up. You work as if you’re a team. Alchimia is a very productive place, you have tools and information and feedback at hand.
What did you learn at Alchimia? (not just about techniques, of course)
First of all I did learn technique. For me, at least, there’s no discontinuity here: while learning the ins and outs of a technique, my imagination serves a bunch of ideas. But if something should be singled out, I would say I learned how to give “first aid” to objects that were not so promising in the first place, or to seemingly modest ideas. Maybe that’s the main quality of a teacher, as they are always confronted with people that are – by definition – mostly beginners.
What did you love most about Alchimia?
I was surrounded by things from which there’s so much you can learn. You’re in a place where almost everything around you is relevant. This is an event in itself.
What are the common traits of the people you met at Alchimia?
The teachers are very good: as I said earlier, they somehow know exactly when to intervene. The common features of the people in the space at Alchimia are those that make the described experience possible: curiosity, ability to concentrate, motivation – a profile of performers regardless of domain.
What would you recommend to the next winner of the Autor Awesome Award? How can he / she prepare for the Alchimia experience?
One tends to underestimate just how many things are actually feasible. Expect pleasant surprises!
Meet Ana Marchetanu and the next Autor Awesome Award winner at AUTOR 2016!
16th & 17th of April, at Grand Hotel du Boulevard, Bucharest
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- Ana Marchetanu and the AAA Trophy by Ioana Ardelean