We like things that have a story behind them. And when they are made with all our heart and soul, we have to share them. Deaf artistic jeweler Zuzana Búry Zliechovcová has a unique talent. She hand-makes jewelry that is a success both domestically and internationally. She is the only Slovak jeweler to be included in a prestigious catalog that features a selection of jewelry from the best jewelers from around the world, but she humbly says that her dream is to satisfy the interest of her customers. She creates under the ViZu art brand with her sister Vierka, who is currently on maternity leave. Both won the title of Miss Deaf Slovakia, and also placed in the Miss Deaf World competition. With their work, they prove that they are not only beautiful, but also clever. And even though they had obstacles on the road to success, they overcame them with nobility.
How would you characterize your work? What is your signature style?
Our creations under the ViZu art brand are very diverse. They are unique, handmade artistic jewelry with sometimes magical messages, whether they are rings, pendants, earrings, brooches or bracelets. All of them will find their wearers in every age category, they are designed for every occasion. In their production, we use typical artisan jewelry technologies, such as fire soldering, filing, grinding, polishing, filigree, granulation, mineral setting, casting... However, many recognize the special characteristic natural-folk style of hair ornaments such as headbands, wreaths and crowns. Their uniqueness lies precisely in artisan jewelry techniques, where individual parts - components are produced separately and then soldered according to designed patterns. This is a time-consuming method of production, but the result is worth it...
However, I can say with certainty that the basis of my handwriting is the quality of the work and all the techniques used in its production. And the style? Since my beginnings, I have been increasingly inclined towards natural motifs used in artistic jewelry. I guess it's because I live in a small town surrounded by beautiful nature, whether it's forests, meadows, tajchy, castles... And unique jewelry combined with minerals, that's my heart.
What material do you work with? Which one do you like the most?
I work with various metals, most often with silver, from which you can see most of the jewelry I make... It is easily malleable, well malleable, and that suits me very well in my work. Silver is also an excellent material for hand casting into organic sepia. Jewelry gold, which I have been working with more intensively in recent weeks, is also malleable, but on the contrary, very hard. It is a great challenge for me to make beautiful artistic jewelry from it despite this property.
The great thing about it is that he has the opportunity to choose the mineral and type of jewelry according to his own discretion. This way, the jewelry becomes "tailor-made" and for the future wearer it is truly a piece of jewelry that she likes to wear. However, often a man finds a ready-made piece of jewelry directly with us that meets his requirements and leaves satisfied.
We cannot forget about men who buy men's jewelry for themselves, we also have these jewelry in our portfolio, such as popular pendants, rings or bracelets. Men then come with specific requirements, whether for the shape of the jewelry or the mineral, or they have "something nice" made for them, which we are happy to advise them on. I assume that they are satisfied with the jewelry, which is also evidenced by the fact that they come more and more often.
How do you approach creating an engagement ring or wedding bands?
I try to approach the production of each piece of jewelry individually, especially when it comes to engagement rings and wedding rings. There is no other way, each ring is an original, especially those that are made using the technology of hand casting into organic sepia. The embossed motif is always different, unmistakable, it is a way for the wearers to express their individuality in unity. Subsequently, the jewelry is processed according to the wishes, whether into floristic, geometric motifs, or we leave them with a minimalist design, often using natural minerals. At this stage of production, there are no limits to imagination. Of course, we also make rings in other ways, according to the customer's wishes.
You have many successes, which one do you consider your greatest?
There were many successes, which I value immensely, so it is difficult for me to say which one I consider my greatest. Each one was the greatest at a certain time, each one moved me somewhere. In the beginning, my successes were mainly linked to placing in competitions. Whether it was during my studies at high school and university , second place in the professional Slovak jewelry competition TAHITIAN PEARL TROPHY 2005, first place ZLATÁ FATIMA JUNIOR 2006, leading places in the competitions Slovak Jewelry 2007, Slovak Student Jewelry 2008, Slovak Obsidian Jewelry 2008 or international competitions in Italy ARTISTA SEGNALATO 2012 and TROFFEO "PERLA DELL'ADRIATICO" 2012. Each competition meant a lot to me, each place was feedback for me that I make jewelry well and it is beautiful...
Life itself is a large palette of colors, shapes, moods and impressions... When we look at a handmade piece of jewelry, there is something from life in it. I have always wanted to show and offer people many options expressed in jewelry, many styles corresponding to the taste of the future wearer. With custom-made jewelry, I make sure that the jewelry directly corresponds to the owner's taste, that it is identified with him, that he simply likes it and enjoys wearing it. I like to remember a piece of jewelry made for a gentleman who liked the Vikings, had a piece of jewelry with their symbol. Why not?
The majority of customers are women, but recently the number of men who want to give their loved ones jewelry has been increasing. These are often special events, whether it's when a man wants to give a woman a piece of jewelry or decides to elevate their relationship and give his beloved an engagement ring. Communication with them is very interesting, they pay attention to the choice of jewelry, as it is a gift they want to surprise and please... For example, when my husband tells me that he would like to give his wife a piece of jewelry with a blue mineral, because her eyes are like the sky, we look for all available blue minerals from dove blue, light blue, bright blue to twilight blue, because even we don't know what the exact color of the blue sky is :).
Where do you get inspiration for creating new jewelry?
I find inspiration everywhere, you just have to look around you. As I mentioned at the beginning, in addition to current circumstances, it is also in current moments. I see inspiration in a leaf falling from a tree... Or when I look out the window and see the fog slowly floating down the hill, or the flying dust that you only see in a ray of sunlight, a flickering candle or the restless water surface on a lake...
After the idea, there is a design and sketch, preliminary selection of minerals, material preparation and production can begin. However, I often make changes during the production phase, as ideas and improvements keep coming.
