Jewelry Making Workshop with Asian Elements

Explore the beauty and meaning of Asian artistic traditions through a hands-on jewelry-making workshop. Drawing inspiration from diverse cultures across Asia, this session introduces participants to key design elements such as symbolic motifs, color systems, and traditional materials often found in adornment practices—from jade and metalwork to textile-based embellishments.

Participants will be guided through the process of designing and crafting their own unique jewelry pieces, with step-by-step instruction suitable for beginners and experienced makers alike. Alongside the making process, the workshop will offer cultural context, highlighting how jewelry functions not only as decoration but also as an expression of identity, spirituality, and social connection in many Asian communities.

All materials will be provided. Participants are also welcome to bring small personal items or found materials to incorporate into their designs. This workshop encourages creativity, cultural curiosity, and personal storytelling through wearable art.

Xiao Qin is a multidisciplinary artist and designer based between Chicago and Beijing. Her practice is rooted in material storytelling and cross-cultural dialogue, navigating the intersections of tradition and innovation shaped by her lived experiences in China and the United States.

Working across ceramics, jewelry, and mixed-media installations, Xiao Qin explores themes of memory, heritage, and transformation. Whether designing a teapot that tells a story or crafting jewelry that bridges past and present, she approaches making as a dynamic exchange—between material and maker, tradition and experimentation, memory and transformation. For her, the studio becomes a site of reflection and dialogue, where inherited techniques meet contemporary inquiry.

Each piece emerges through an attentive and intentional process, carrying layers of personal narrative and cultural resonance. Through her work, Xiao Qin invites viewers to slow down and consider how objects hold history, embody care, and continue evolving in meaning across generations and geographies.