Tam Rueter is a top graduating Student in the VCC Jewellery Art and Design Program. They received the Mountain Gems Artistic Achievement Award. A standout window display at VCC's Broadway Campus 1120 E 7th (Glen Drive at 7th), on from May 29th-June 12th, their beautiful designs are nestled against cedar bark and moss, in keeping with their love of nature and eco practices. Love their idea about jewellery being " tokens of meaningful moments". I choose clothing for colour, but I do wear jewellery, mostly earrings and brooches, that tell a story. Try my best to avoid plastic, but then, there are those few vintage pieces....

Q: Where are you from and does your background shape your work? 

A: I was born and raised in the Fraser Valley, Cloverdale if we want to be specific. I would definitely agree that my background shapes my work, especially in the instance of my grad pieces. I was always an outdoors kid, but with having camped a lot and attending a forest education summer camp for many years, that really just kind of solidified the garden hermit within me. Coming from a European heritage, the Dada and Arts and Crafts art movements really spoke to me. So, I love to really just have fun with creating art (with jewellery and in any other form), and also in a way make fun of art. There’s a lot that I think is kind of overrated or too “high-society” for my taste, I believe art should remain personal and accessible. I also love when you can tell that something is handmade; it just adds a special connection between the artist and the viewer. Of course it takes a lot of skill to make a piece immaculate as well, but I think it takes equal skill to showcase a step in the process that was done to a piece, but in a presentable way. 

Q: Where would you like to see your Jewellery go? Runway, Theatre, Gallery, Store? Locations? Who will wear your work and what will that say about identity? Culture? Trends? Interests? 

A: I’d love to see my pieces in galleries at some point, I enjoy that they make art very accessible. And as somebody who also enjoys going to galleries for either just fun or inspiration, I’d love to lend my art to that experience. As well, I think it would just be really neat to collaborate with other designers for something to be included in a runway show, or some type of stylizing for publication. So I guess the dream moving forwards is really to just collaborate with other artists that I resonate with and share a similar vibe and vision. It's very important to me to stay true to myself for my creative satisfaction. So if you’re somebody who’s interested in nature and out of the norm jewellery, hit me up! 

Q: Do you think Jewellery is visible enough? I would like to see more and especially more Canadian, more Eco, more reflections of nature, etc.... 

A: This is definitely a big question. Jewellery is very visible, especially with all of the types of ads we have now. They’re everywhere. However, I don’t believe that all types of jewellery are visible. I grew up with exposure to your sort of classic retailers with straightforward, classic styles. You open a magazine, and it’s there. You turn on the TV, and it’s there. It honestly wasn’t until I was really jumping into this industry that I discovered really how vast the community of artisanal and other jewellery is. So I'd love to see more exposure and visibility for those communities! I think the artisanal/handmade communities are for sure getting more attention recently with the kind of boost we’ve had to supporting local. This is great! Something else I’d  just love to see from brands or artisans themselves is a big push for trying to be more eco-conscious in our production. Whether it’s using recycled metal to reduce the harmful mining to our planet, sourcing our materials locally, or simply by using recyclable/compostable packaging. Any step forwards is a step worth taking. 

Q: What has been your favourite part of being at VCC? 

A: It's really hard to pick just one thing as a top favourite, but I’d probably have to say that it’s honestly just the community within the program itself. The students, the faculty. Everyone has connected so much over the past 2 years. It’s such a special feeling to be growing and learning together. It’s been so important for me to bounce ideas around with other jewellers; it’s really helped me to push my creativity and methodology. All of the faculty are so supportive and insightful, I know I’ll still be pestering them a little bit for years to come. (Sorry not sorry!) 

Q: Where can you see your creativity taking you? 

A: The first thing that came to mind is also the most important for me: all I want is to live a comfortable, creatively satisfied life, while helping others collect tokens of meaningful moments in their lives. To make and share art. Very, very sparkly art. And wherever that happens to take me, career or geographically (or other) wise, is completely fine with me.