Ornament is the leading magazine celebrating wearable art. Explore jewelry, fashion, beads; contemporary, ancient and ethnographic.
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14 ORNAMENT 35.5.2012 questions/answers materials they want and they have feelings behind the work they want done. I try to materialize these feelings, and this is where the interrelation between the artist, the work and the people exists. This is the window of opportunity to be an artisan jeweler, versus a jeweler who utilizes molds or copies images from a catalog. Were there any art movements or cultural traditions that affected your jewelry? Why are you drawn to these styles? Yes, of course. In my generation there was an important artistic movement called the Urban Art Movement. I was absorbed by the Urban Art Movement; we were an authentic movement, with traditional roots from our cultures with urban purposes. Through this movement I was able to express not only my art, but also my political and philosophical convictions. The Urban Art Movement was a counter-culture movement, and was not welcomed by the moralistic consciousness of the people who associated the Urban Art Movement with drugs and with the stigma of the American hippie. Because of that, I and other artisans had to defend our right to sell our work in outdoor marketplaces. In Mexico there are so many artistic traditions—for me it does not seem possible to choose a particular style or tradition that I was drawn to. I simply grew up absorbing visual and oral traditions. From the indigenous woman who sells her handmade dolls in the street to the university professor who creates Mexican folk art, this is what I saw all the time growing up; I simply absorbed it all. This culture of art is what made me believe in my artistic capabilities, as both a way to express myself and take care of myself economically. How would you describe your style? I work in a lot of different styles. traditional Mexican, precolumbian, contemporary, and my own version of Art Nouveau. I work with semiprecious and precious stones and I am always integrating new elements into my designs. I never make molds—each piece is one-of-a-kind. My intention is to make a connection between my work and the customer, offering honest work and sincerity. I want everyone to be able to enjoy my work. How do you market or sell your work? As a new emigrant to this country, I am open to all the opportunities to offer my work as a jeweler. My family and I have put my work in jewelry galleries; we have been selling my work at art festivals (both where we live in Ashland, Oregon, as well as other places); we have a website and an etsy store. We also do many, many exchanges with my work for a variety of wonderful services, including relationship counseling, naturopathic doctor care for our family, for our accountant who does our taxes, for massages, and for new clothes for our family. My goal and my vision as a jeweler is to be able to entirely support my family through my jewelry, so that my family may thrive.