Undergraduate Student Wins Award and Exhibition Opportunity

Samira Saheli, an SDSU School of Art and Design undergraduate, was recently awarded the 2019 SDSU Student Excellence Award in Jewelry and Metalwork by Taboo Studio, a contemporary Jewelry gallery and store in Mission Hills.

In business for the past 31 years, Taboo Studio is owned and operated by jewelers and SDSU alumnae, Jane Groover and Joanna Rhoades. Their gallery and store represents over seventy-five local, national, and internationally recognized artists, each with his/her own distinct style and use of materials.

Groover and Rhodes have been sponsoring the SDSU Student Excellence Award in Jewelry and Metalwork since 2013. Winners receive a cash prize as well as an opportunity to display their work at Taboo Studio for a two-week exhibition. Saheli’s’ exhibition opens July 25 and runs through August 8, 2019. An opening reception with the artist will take place on July 25, 2019, from 5:00 – 7:00 pm.

“Samira’s work stands out for its point of view and careful construction. She is the child of immigrants and her designs are based on her personal visual responses to the environment in which she has come of age.” said Groover. “The opportunity for Samira to exhibit her work at Taboo Studio allows her to think about how she presents her work to the public, not just her colleagues and professors. “

Saheli’s economically insecure childhood as well as her family’s long held belief in magic has heavily influenced her work. “Stories such as the tale of my great aunt, a Salvadoran Bruja, who placed her soul in a teacup to guard it from harm while she nocturnally roamed the spirit world as a jaguar, have been told to me my whole life. My ancestral history is rich with legends of protection that inspire my creations, said Saheli

Architectural in form, Saheli’s pieces both reveal and conceal layers of metaphorical walls of protection. She combines materials for their distinct formal qualities and symbolic associations to display both emotional states and personal coping mechanisms. Some works incorporate handmade paper or plant matter, such as sage and rue, used in medicinal/spiritual healing.

“These pendants’ scale and length are related to the weight and placement of inner turmoil such as anxiety and depression and how these things manifest in the body,” said Saheli. “By offering amulets which address personal/emotional vulnerabilities, I aim at affirming the viewer/wearers’ self-acceptance while sharing a means of protection.”

One of Saheli’s Jewelry + Metalsmithing professors and mentors at the School of Art + Design, Sondra Sherman, was struck by Saheli’s uncommon dedication to her work from her first jewelry + metalwork class. “Samira’s work consistently shows a poetic creative voice as well as exceptional skills,” said Sherman.

For Saheli, being selected as the winner of this prestigious award makes up for “the long studio hours, the unreadable sketches, the failed ideas, and the overall time and effort” she’s poured into her craft while at SDSU. “I have learned so much during my time here at San Diego State University and I feel immense gratitude for my mentors Sondra Sherman and Kerianne Quick,” said Saheli. “This award will not only help further my career in the art community but it will also allow me to learn more about how gallery work functions. I am so excited and inspired for what this opportunity may bring. “

Taboo Studio is located at 1615 1/2 W. Lewis Street. San Diego, CA 92103

Hours of Operation

• Tuesday - Friday / 11am-6pm
• Saturday / 10am-5pm

For more information, visit http://www.taboostudio.net