about my work

Jewellery :
Jewels for Cinderella :
A jewellery collection of blown , silver-plated and sandblasted Bohemian glass,
fragile but wearable: Cinderella is ready for the Ball..

Objects: Galerie Door, Mariaheide
Vase shapes of ceramics and porcelain, including Raku
Raku is originally a Japanese technique.
After heating, a shock reaction arises, causing the enamel to crackle.
At Naked Raku the crackle lines burn straight into the clay.

AMPHORA bags and vases
I am fascinated by the image of a woman with a water jug.
The woman undergoes a metamorphosis: every fragility or uncertainty changes into strength, elegance and independence.
A water jug is a monumental archetypal form.
These leather handbags and porcelain vase shapes are a metaphor for the water jug.
Despite their lightweight silhouette, the same powerful image emerges.



BOOK : MARIA HEES 30 YEARS OF DESIGN
www.japsambooks.nl
ISBN 978-94-90322-12-0
Graphic design: Marlous Bervoets

In 2009, Maria Hees was celebrating her 30th anniversary as
a handbag and jewellery designer. The publication Maria Hees | 30
years of design presents some of her latest collections as well as
designs from the last thirty years.

Maria Hees is not an industrial designer, not a free artist, not a craftswoman in the tradition of her craft, not an ambitious businessperson.
She is committed to the development of her own ideas about the nature of jewellery, objects, and bags; she examines the applicability of materials, often applying materials in entirely novel ways. She does acknowledge any of the restrictions so often imposed on the manufacture of products by tradition or other standards; on the contrary, she fights them in an attempt to create new solutions. She shapes her own freedom and, in doing so, the freedom of those who use her objects. She can do this by working on a small scale, making almost everything herself and doing only what she thinks is worthwhile. It is in her work that her true being manifests itself...

a play of glass and light

I'm always curious to discover the characteristics of a material that I did not use before. I assumed that glass would be a wonderful material for jewelry . And although I initially had doubts whether it was a suitable material for jewelry not only to look at , but also to wear, I took up the challenge.
My starting point was borosilicate. This is a very strong type of (laboratory-)glass, due to the composition, and enhanced by the circular shapes that occur in the glass-blowing. The air is directly blown into the glass tube. By local heating, the glass becomes stretchable, and round shapes arise with a flowing gradient. Thus it seems as if the piece of jewelry is growing.Balls, funnels and spouts appear, and together they form an organic composition. In realizing my designs I take advantage of these characteristics, complemented by the skill of a master glassblower in Bohemia. The clear transparent shapes created thereby, receive their final appearance when I myself finish them by sandblasting. And so the piece of jewelry becomes semi-transparent, and the color of the cord fades in part, creating a play of glass and light.



In 1979, Maria Hees (Bergeijk, 1948) graduated from the Academy
of Visual Arts Arnhem, having specialized in Metal and Plastics
Design. Her work has been displayed at various (inter)national
museums (MOMA New York, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam)
Maria Hees designs are manufactured in-house and are produced in limited numbers.

more information :
www.klimt02.net/jewellers/maria-hees