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Beauty + Resilience Through Ceramics

May 04, 2022

Meet Valentina Ferrada Aguilar, a ceramic artist, jewelry designer, and founder of Chercán Project. Valentina is originally from Santiago, Chile, but recently relocated to Washington, DC. She is deeply passionate about creating and teaching and finds daily inspiration in nature’s resiliency and beauty.

Valentina’s path to becoming a ceramic artist and jewelry designer was anything but typical. She studied journalism for three years but felt something was lacking, so she quit journalism and took up the arts.

Her first ceramics course under the industrial design program she enrolled in did not go so well. In her own words, “I failed it.” So what did she do? She registered for a second course, and through this course met a professor and mentor in one who taught her everything she knows. But, maybe more importantly, according to Valentina, “He really inspired me to do what I love.”

Ceramics flourished from hobby to business as she began experimenting with making smaller ceramic pieces using her father’s old (and very small) kiln. A classmate asked her if she could create some ceramic jewelry, and well, the rest is history. In Valentina’s mind, all these pieces came together at exactly the right time—access to the kiln, a great mentor, and an interested “client.”

Valentina launched Chercán Project as part of her thesis in 2018. In Spanish, chercán means wren, and Valentina tells the story of a small wren she once observed, working day in and day out to make a nest for her eggs. One day, the nest was destroyed, but that did not stop this wren. She went right back to work, building a new nest.

"That wren and his story resonated a lot with me because that's exactly how I felt when my mom died a few years ago. I felt like I lost everything, but I got back up for her. Everything that inspires me is also from my mother. For what I saw in me reflected in this resilient wren. It’s beautiful.”

That wren and his story resonated a lot with me because that's exactly how I felt when my mom died a few years ago. I felt like I lost everything, but I got back up for her

Valentina sees herself in the story of the wren and tries to capture the same resilience in each piece that she designs for the collection. Take her tulip earrings, for example. The tulip comes up each spring after enduring a long, cold winter. It’s resilient. (Fun fact: Valentina’s favorite flowers are tulips, and she had a tulip bouquet at her wedding. You can read more about the earrings here.)

The collection also includes sun and moon earrings, representing the resiliency of our universe. According to Valentina, “I am very struck by the fact that everything in our universe is perfectly and calculatedly designed, and everything has a balance, and these earrings represent that, the balance, day and night, Yin and Yang, light and darkness, etc.”

The entirety of her art is in fact a tribute to resilience. As Valentina notes, it takes a lot of practice to make such small pieces. A lot of fails too. “Fail to fail to fail to succeed.” At the start, Valentina would make 100 earrings to achieve 20 perfect earrings. It was that powerful mix of frustrating and rewarding.

"Ceramics itself is so unpredictable. You have the paint, and the glaze, but you can’t see how it is going to look until it comes out of the kiln. You have to cross your fingers and say, ‘See you in two days!’”

“I never thought that I’d end up at this point in the project. I always had this feeling that I wanted to create my own business, never thought it would be so soon. I also thought it would be easier. I love it though. I can create my own stuff, and I love it when people see my artwork and they get excited about it, or they can relate to it. I think it’s the most beautiful thing when you give jewelry, and they feel pretty and happy.”

So where does Valentine see herself in the future? She would love to have her work featured in a museum. She would also love to stay in DC a while and watch her business grow up. If (or when) she goes back to Chile, she would like to teach and one day establish a community arts workshop like the Capitol Hil Arts Workshop (CHAW) on Captial Hill. In her own words, “I’d love to create my own Chilean CHAW. Inspire people of all ages to be artists and help them incorporate the arts into their lives.”

You can view Valentina’s collection of Artifcts here and more of her work at Chercán Project.

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Calling All Family History Buffs!

Love family history? Love bonding over family lore, stories, and other funny quips, quotes, and oh-so memorable moments? You’re in good company with us here at Artifcts!

What we’ve discovered over the past two years is that family history may sometimes be fickler than we think. It’s easy to lull ourselves into believing that Grandma’s always going to be here to make her famous biscuits. Grandpa’s always going to be here to tell us the story of his steel pennies. But we know this is not true.

Although we have yet to find a way to stop (or even stall!) time, we have discovered we can capture those moments, stories, and histories straight from the source. Thousands of photos and documents locked in your hard drive, or difficult or expensive software, will not do justice to your family history. You know the dots you want to connect, so start connecting them where you can easily share them with others with more permanence than memories alone allow!

We’ve put together tips to make sure your family history will be remembered.

No need to reinvent the wheel. Use the photos and videos you already have and attach the documentation that is already lurking in your digital or physical file cabinets. Founder’s tip: Add a link to digital files in the ‘Location’ field if you have a digital folder with other related items.
Sharing is caring. Remember to share privately or publicly with your family (cousins included!) or other interested parties. Create a circle, invite your family into it, and you can all swap Artifcts like a big group chat!
Ask others to contribute. If you don’t know all the details, ask other family members (who have paid Artifcts memberships) to help fill in the blanks by giving them 'Edit’ access when you share. Our co-founder Heather recently asked her aunts for help in trying to track down the details of this old photo.
Families love using (name) tags. Tag your Artifcts with a family last name, first name, or initials to capture pieces of family history that are easily searchable, findable, and shareable. Got a big family? Encourage others to use the same tags, such as #GrandmaDot or #NickersonFamily2023, to build the family's Artifcts collection.
Include citation links. Are you the family keeper or the family genealogist? Include citation links to your research or even family tree details in the ‘Description;' as you would elsewhere, leave out details of living family members if you intend to broadly share or make the Artifct public.

Ready for More?

Curious how others are Artifcting their family histories?

Check out our Family History Month Your Way piece for additional tips and tricks, along with our Gift Your Loved Ones a Why for an important reminder of why all that history is so important.

If you especially love history and want to see some unique Artifcts, check out the Nickerson Family Association’s Artifcts collection. They’ve Artifcted pieces of their family history from the 1660s! You never know what you’ll discover.

Happy (Family History) Artifcting!

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March 22, 2023

TIPS & TRICKS, LEGACY, PLANNING & MORE

Using the Artifcts App to Create Artifcts

“ANY of my photos I took on my phone?”
“Can you help with all these voice messages? Are they ‘stuff?’”
“Oh, I can do that walking around my house! My son thinks it’s all junk.”
“I have a three-hour layover in Denver. I’ll start Artifcting then!”
{What will you say?}

______________

We took notes as our newest Artifcts Community members tried out our app last week at the RootsTech conference in Salt Lake City. We must have chatted with more than 500 people who stopped by our booth. Some were conference attendees. Others are themselves respected builders of the premiere brands in genealogy services today. The awe factor of our modest app centered around how much you could do with a single, easy to use application. We’re declaring that a win!

On Monday we offered a free webinar to walk through some of the ins and outs of creating an Artifct from the Artifcts app. You can watch the recording, blooper moments and all, on our YouTube channel ->

Your Turn! Try a Few of the Artifcts App Features

The more feedback from all of you, the better and better the app will be. Download the app to your iOS or Android device, give it a try, and write to us at Hello@Artifcts.com. We review every message!

CREATE A NEW ARTIFCT
Use what you’ve got!

On your phone, that is. Go for it, scroll 1000s of photos back in your gallery to that ONE photo you’re thinking of. Or pop into your voicemail and rescue that message you’ve saved for months or even years.

- 1. Open the voice message.
  2. Click the share icon
  3. Choose the Artifcts app!

Select a voice message on your mobile phone

Choose to add the voice message to a new or existing Artifct

Images are from an iOS phone. Android will have slight differences.

Start fresh. Work with the latest.
From the Artifcts app, click '+ Artifct.'

How to create a new Artifct on the app

Now choose to take a new photo, use an existing photo, video, or audio file, and off you go! Remember, you can choose up to five media files per Artifct and rearrange them to flow with your story.

SHARE AN ARTIFCT
Mobile Style

You can always share an Artifct with someone based on their Artifcts screen name or email address. You can even post public Artifcts to social media. But did you know that the Artifcts app offers a special sharing option?

1. 1. Click the share icon on your Artifct.
  2. Choose ‘Share link’ to send the Artifct via text message. You don’t even have to enter the email, phone number, or know if they are already an Artifcts member. Simply type to find the contact on your phone and send the Artifct in a text.
  3. If the Artifct is private, and you haven’t already given the person permission, they will be able to “request access” when they click to view the Artifct link you sent them. Don’t' worry, they will be encouraged to sign in (or create a free Artifcts account) first to see if they already have access.

Bonus! If you have notifications for the Artifcts app enabled on your mobile device, you’ll learn instantly when they request access.

FIND OUT: WHAT'S IT WORTH?
When you supect real market value or historical relevance

You can find out if your treasures are authentic and potentially valuable!

1. 1. Click to view one of your Artifcts
  2. Scroll to the end of the Artifct and click "What's it worth?" to ask Heritage Auctions.
  3. After expert review, Heritage Auctions will attach directly to your Artifct a free valuation within two to three weeks. Be sure to provide helpful details. We offer tips in our FAQs for valuations.

Happy Artifcting!

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March 15, 2023

TIPS & TRICKS

The Artifcts Bookshelf: Books About or Related to 'Stuff'

Here you'll find a simple listing of a wide-ranging and growing collection of books, with 'stuff' as the unify theme. Now and then we may post a link to an online article, podcast, or similar, but given how impermanent those links can be and the frustration paywalls can present, we'll mostly stick to books.

We use tags to organize them for your quick scanning. Click any image below to review the book over on the author’s site, Amazon, or elsewhere.

What are you reading? Share with Editor@Artifcts.com and we'll check it out.

(Please note: These books are literally on our nightstands, coffee tables, and bookshelves. We are not paid to list publications here.)

THE ARTIFCTS BOOKSHELF

	The Hare with Amber Eyes: A Hidden Inheritance By Edmund de Waal, Jan. 2010 FICTION, COLLECTIBLES
	The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue By V. E. Schwab, Oct. 2021 FICTION, ARTS
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	What to Do with Everything You Own to Leave the Legacy You Want By Marni Jameson, Jun. 2021 NONFICTION, INSTRUCTIONAL
	108 Beloved Objects: Letting Go of Stuff, Keeping Our Stories By Jeff Greenwald, Aug. 2021 NONFICTION, THE EVERYDAY
	The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning By Margareta Magnusson, Jan. 2018 NONFICTION, INSTRUCTIONAL, THE EVERYDAY
	The Dig By John Preston, Apr. 2016 FICTION, HISTORY
	goodbye, things: The New Japanese Minimalism By Fumio Sasaki, Apr. 2017 NONFICTION, THE EVERYDAY
	Joyful: The Surprising Power of Ordinary Things to Create Extraordinary Happiness By Ingrid Fetell Lee, Sep. 2018 NONFICTION, THE EVERYDAY, INSTRUCTIONAL
	Keep the Memories, Lose the Stuff: Declutter, Downsize, and Move Forward with Your Life By Matt Paxton, Feb. 2022 NONFICTION, INSTRUCTIONAL
	Stuff: Compulsive Hoarding and the Meaning of Things By Gail Steketee, Jan. 2011 NONFICTION
	The Book of Form and Emptiness By Ruth Ozeki, Jun. 2022 FICTION, MENTAL HEALTH
	What We Keep: 150 People Share the One Object that Brings Them Joy, Magic, and Meaning By Bill Shapiro & Naomi Wax, Sept. 2018 NONFICTION, COLLECTIBLES, TRAVEL
	Taste: My Life Through Food By Stanley Tucci, Oct. 2021 NONFICTION, RECIPES, TRAVEL

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