|
I began my career as an artist over 30 years ago in my native country of Chile. Although I have worked in many mediums over the years, jewelry has always been my passion. My aim is to create unique yet wearable pieces of jewelry utilizing high-quality, unusual stones and unusual combinations of stones, both precious and semi-precious. I do all my work in 14K gold, using yellow, white, pink, or a combination of colors. My design process begins with sketching my ideas on paper. Once I am happy with the design on paper, I decide which technique(s) I will use to make the piece actually look the way I have visualized it. For some designs, I use a method called lost wax casting, in which I start with a block of wax and, using a variety of special scalpels, files and rotary tools, sculpt my design in the wax and then cast it in gold. In other designs, I choose to use a technique called hand fabrication. In this method, I begin with the raw metal, then shape and form the piece by “chasing and forging” the metal into the design I have imagined. Many designs involve the use of both techniques. I incorporate gemstones into most of my designs, hand-selecting beautiful, high-quality, interesting stones. I use a wide variety of stone-setting techniques including bezel, prong, channel, flush and pave settings, and often use two or three techniques within the same piece. My wife, Neena, is my partner. She plays the role of a consultant when it comes to designs, giving her ideas for improvements on a design I have created, and offering a woman’s perspective on how to make certain pieces more wearable. She also helps with some of the mechanics of the casting process. Her main role, however, is that of an organizer rather than an artist. She is in charge of all the applications, hotel and travel arrangements, customer contacts, accounting, and basically everything else that frees me up to spend all my time in my studio. I love what I do and truly think there is no better job in the world than taking a mere idea in one’s head and turning it into a thing of beauty which brings pleasure to someone else.
|
