Judith Amiel: Full Artist Spotlight

Judith Amiel is a jewelry and ceramics artist. She often discovers what her pieces will be spontaneously.

How did you get started creating your current body of work? 

Originally, I’m a pharmacist. When I moved to the United States, about 10 years ago or so, I didn’t want to continue doing pharmacy. I always did ceramics and
jewelry pieces as a hobby.

I decided that moving to a new country would be a new page in my life. Opening a new door to something that I like, and I decided to turn my hobby into a profession. I decided to make more of what I like to do. MADE was the first store that had my jewelry and ceramics pieces. And thanks to MADE, I am what I am because of MADE. 

What’s the favorite part of your work? 

My favorite part is when you throw on the wheel.  After throwing the piece on the wheel, you need to trim and create a foot to the pieces. This is my favorite part, trimming my ceramic pieces because it gives the pieces a new look. It looks finished, and sometimes it turns into something unexpected. Because I’m not planning what I’m doing, I work in a more spontaneous way. Sometimes after trimming, it’s a surprise to me to see the end result which is very satisfying to me. 

How do you express your creativity through your work? 

I like a minimalistic look. For me, less is more. Most of my pieces are very minimalistic. I do not add a lot of design into my pieces. I like the simplicity of my pieces, the clean look of my pieces. 

What brings you joy? 

My family, reading a good book, hiking in the Arizona desert when there is good weather of course, going out with my friends, and seeing my friends. Especially now after the pandemic (and not seeing everybody for such a long time), for me, the most joy is seeing everybody that I haven’t seen for such a long time. 

What challenge(s) have you overcome? 

I think the most challenging thing for me was moving to a new country. I came to the United States following my husband. It was a very big challenge for me. Even though I had visited the States many times before moving here. It was still a different country in regards to language, culture, and there were a lot of things to get to know that I didn’t know before. This was the most challenging chapter of my life.

It’s very hard to be far away from my family. I’m originally from Israel, and most of my family is in Israel.  It’s challenging being far away from them and staying connected with them. 

Anything in the works/coming up for you? 

I’m working now on a new line of both jewelry and ceramics. I’m working on combining the two areas by making jewelry made of ceramics pieces. It’s something I’m looking forward to, to see how the end result will be. 

What do you wish for the world? 

I wish that everybody will respect other people, especially their opinion. We can agree to disagree. I wish that people accept everybody no matter what the religion, race, background, etc. I wish we would be more tolerant to each other and accept everyone. I wish everybody to be in peace. 

Is there anything else you’d like to share/us to know? 

When I started making ceramics and jewelry. MADE was the first store that accepted my pieces. I was so excited! It was about 7 or 8 years ago. MADE has a very special place in my heart. Only thanks to MADE I am where I am right now in my work. It meant a lot to me and continues to mean a lot to me. The store is a special place for me because of this. 

See her collection of items at MADE here :)