Mia Hebib, "Wise Women"

About the piece:

"I grew up in a household where both my grandmother and my mother turned first to the natural world for healing before (and if) resorting to pharmaceuticals. For common cough and cold we used sage tea for rinsing, for bladder issues tea made of Uva Ursi, to name a few. Even though I was 17 when I left Croatia, this is something that I have absorbed into my core. Women are intuitive and have looked to nature for millennia. These natural ways were respected remedies for ailments and people looked to women for help and guidance for minor and significant issues. In Middle Ages they called them witches and many women were burned to death for this practice. Today, there are just a few indigenous cultures that still turn to nature as their greatest source for remedies. We no longer have that extensive knowledge about the natural world around us. It is dangerous, to say the least.  And considering what women did for centuries to protect themselves from unwanted pregnancies it is frightening to think that we would need to turn this way as a last resort because all the inventions of modern medicine are becoming unavailable to us. This necklace is an homage to all the wise women across centuries, and their incredible resourcefulness and courage to take care of themselves and one another. As I think of my friends and their young daughters, my work is for them so they live the freedoms we all deserve as human beings."

About the artist:

Mia Hebib creates conversation pieces, and her mission is to elevate jewelry from simply existing as an accessory to becoming a wearable sculpture, objet d'art. Mia's studio "Oblik" means "shape/form" in Croatian, name echoed in each of her creations. Her hand-crafted pieces, while abstract in nature, draw from observing the shapes around her found in architecture, urban and natural detritus, and human interactions. She is curious about the relationship of what her mind perceives and what her hands can produce. Oblik Atelier jewelry marries traditional metalsmithing techniques to timeless designs via fold forming, fabricating and forging techniques. Each piece is hand sculpted to conform to the body. 

Mia started in the arts at the School for Applied Arts and Design in Zagreb, Croatia. Upon resettling in the United States, she attended the Savannah College of Art and Design where she received a BFA in jewelry and metalsmithing. Besides running Oblik Atelier, Mia has been instrumental in re-launching Robert Lee Morris collection, as well as launching jewelry for multiple high-profile fashion brands, such as AllSaints and Coach wholesale Mia also mentors at SCAD and PRATT Institute.