There is a mystery that surrounds Henriette Schuster. Go online and see a website with only photographs and drawings. Take a look at the 2014 catalogue, ‘henriette schuster’ to find there is no text to explain the work or reveal the motivation of the artist. There is a brief curriculum vitae on the back inside cover that sits beside a photograph of Henriette standing before her work, staring directly into the camera. The message here is look closely and work it out for yourself.
What then, can I work out from what I see? I see jewellery small in scale and large in stature: quiet but confident. I see personal imagery and motif that is universally understood, and I see technical expertise that sits comfortably alongside the spontaneous treatment of materials. I chose Henriette as a mentor in the hope that some of this would rub off and I look forward to our exchange and conversation – in whatever form that will take.