EMMA PIIROTONIEMI
Emma Piirtoniemi is inspired by jewellery’s ability to convey big ideas on an intimate scale and views the discipline as an accessible art form in contemporary culture.
Emma is originally from Baawaating/Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario on Treaty 61 territory of the Anishnaabeg Nation. She is a practicing jewellery artist, freelance writer/editor, and curator. She completed her BFA Major in Jewellery Design and Metalsmithing and Minor in Art History at NSCAD University, and has exhibited nationally and internationally. Her work sits in private collections in Canada and the United States. Emma is an alumna of the Craft and Design Artist-in-Residence program at Harbourfront Centre and served as Editor for MetalAid Canadian Art Jewellery Network for many years. She is based in Kjipuktuk/Halifax, Nova Scotia, on Peace and Friendship Treaty land of the Mi’kmaq Nation, where she works as Operations Manager at Craft Nova Scotia.
Often combining acrylic, glass, and metal in her work, Emma utilizes carving, forming and mosaic techniques to articulate ideas and reveal unexpected qualities of each material. Her contemplative objects and installations dwell on singular and collective experience, immersion vs. detachment, and curiosity vs. complacency.
Emma’s latest work reflects on the environmental impacts of her own studio practice: how process and design can be dictated by material usage, stretching and reusing resources with minimal to no waste. Her research is on sustainability and circular design within an arts framework, and how we reconcile the choices we make as consumers and creators.
Emma is originally from Baawaating/Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario on Treaty 61 territory of the Anishnaabeg Nation. She is a practicing jewellery artist, freelance writer/editor, and curator. She completed her BFA Major in Jewellery Design and Metalsmithing and Minor in Art History at NSCAD University, and has exhibited nationally and internationally. Her work sits in private collections in Canada and the United States. Emma is an alumna of the Craft and Design Artist-in-Residence program at Harbourfront Centre and served as Editor for MetalAid Canadian Art Jewellery Network for many years. She is based in Kjipuktuk/Halifax, Nova Scotia, on Peace and Friendship Treaty land of the Mi’kmaq Nation, where she works as Operations Manager at Craft Nova Scotia.
Often combining acrylic, glass, and metal in her work, Emma utilizes carving, forming and mosaic techniques to articulate ideas and reveal unexpected qualities of each material. Her contemplative objects and installations dwell on singular and collective experience, immersion vs. detachment, and curiosity vs. complacency.
Emma’s latest work reflects on the environmental impacts of her own studio practice: how process and design can be dictated by material usage, stretching and reusing resources with minimal to no waste. Her research is on sustainability and circular design within an arts framework, and how we reconcile the choices we make as consumers and creators.