Name: JASMIN JONES
Age: 49
Current Location: Currently in Milano, Italia. Previously in Byron for the last 12 months.
Where do you call home?
Nowhere right now (international bag lady), though Fremantle undoubtedly holds a piece of my heart.
Daily Mantra?
3 things for me:
1. Be grateful for everything (yes even what's terrible, my greatest hurdles in life have given me the greatest gifts)
2. Give as much love as I can (it costs nothing)
3. Get in touch with my joy everyday (balancing - in a world that feels so unbalanced at times)
You cannot live without?
The sea and sand, and / or connection with nature daily ...DANCING ...and of course life without my crochet hooks, unimaginable!!
What do you do for relaxation?
To be honest I'm not big on it... I can relax when I'm dead. I love to dance and will do it anywhere. I love my daily outdoor training, normally on the beach when I'm in Australia.
You've had a long love affair with the creative arts - can you tell us what lead you to your craft of making jewellery and now your crochet work?
The creative force is at my core, its what drives me, I can't explain it, I just do it, and I've always done it, for as long as i can remember. It's what makes my eyes open in the morning - it's daily life and my solace.
My original training was in Fine Arts at the National Art School in Sydney. I majored in painting, but upon finishing I realised I was probably more interested in design and 3D works, having said that I still draw daily.
I went on to study silver/gold smithing and fine jewellery construction, and was a designer/maker for over 25 years. After surviving a serious illness in 2007 I had a very long convalescence which gave me an opportunity to hone my crocheting skills and in 2014 I decided I needed to grow. I closed my jewellery outlet and worked to order from my home studio and taught crochet a few days a week. Friends were asking me to teach them, so it started there. Teaching crochet is just a beautiful thing for me. Sitting with others and crocheting is like partaking in a timeless ritual, its wonderful to witness people embark on the journey and see where it leads them, and that is the very nature of yarn...
You're an advocate for women’s work and creating safe women's circles in your community - can you tell us more about this?
In 2015 I had the good fortune to meet Cristina Pank Begni, an Italian woman who was holidaying in Fremantle. She had wandered into my close friend Gaelle Beech's shop in Freo and asked if Gaelle knew anyone who was into woman's issues and crocheting or knitting, Gaelle replied with "i know just the woman".
Cristina was one of the organisers of Viva Vittoria project in Italy, a project that broke my heart wide open. Viva Vittoria was a shared relational art project consisting of around 20,000 donated pieces of knit and crochet and was launched on the International Day to Eliminate Violence Against Woman, 25th Nov 2015 (white ribbon day). This was a massive installation in the piazza in Brescia Italy.
With the help of "Nectar for Woman" and "The Fremantle Foundation” I had the good fortune to take around 100 pieces from my community in Freo to Brescia. We sold the installation off over 4 days and some 87,000 euros was raised and donated to the woman's refuge in Brescia. Donating a piece of crochet or knit was a way to give those who couldn't / wouldn't speak a voice. Silence after all is the great enabler.
Community work stirs me, I'm grateful to have had numerous opportunities to teach crochet to facilitators in community positions or do public demonstrations, ...or hold public space for people to work on a collective cause. Spread the love, the crochet hook is mighty I say. I'm yet to realise the Viva Vittoria project in Australia, something I hope for the future.
What's on your horizon for the coming 12 months?
Right now I'm in Italy soaking up lots of love with the amore and inspiration. Work wise I'm currently designing crochet patterns for Ispie Raffia Company in China and working on two crochet collections, one raffia and one swim. I visit Shanghai next month which is really exciting. Plan on returning to Byron to launch and teach in a few months...
La dolce Vita.
