From time to time I like to feature a jewelry artist who has caught my eye. I came across Tania's work on Etsy and I was immediately intrigued by her materials. When I see jewelry made from new and unusual ingredients and it's been well-executed.....I'm impressed! And to tell the truth, I've never worked with this type of natural material, so this was even more interesting to me! Besides working with nuts and seeds, Tania is also a metalsmith who creates lovely hammered pieces such as the beautifully made copper earrings shown below. Enjoy reading what she has to say.........
Your use of materials was the first thing that caught my eye……tell
us more about where you find the Tagua nuts and Acai and Huayruro seeds and
do they need any treatment before you can use them?
I actually saw Tagua nuts and Acai seeds as jewelry on my last trip to Peru.
I came across a beautiful necklace in a small shop and asked what it was made
of, she told me and I was amazed. Before leaving Peru I was able to buy Tagua
nuts and Acai seeds dyed beautiful colors to use in my work. They have been
dyed and tumbled and are ready to use.
I love your Chocolate Jasper Pendant Necklace Leather Cord necklace, without
giving away any trade secrets, can you give us an idea as to how was that done?
I was captivated by the warm chocolate colors of this Jasper and once I had it in my hand I could really see the depth of color and feel the smooth surface in my hand I knew I wanted to keep the design as simple as possible as to not detract from the beauty of the stone. I decided to use a double leather cord as a design element and to balance the weight of the stone. The ends of the cord are hand wrapped in sterling silver with a sterling silver chain to give the necklace an adjustable length. I love to give my necklaces a nice finishing touch with a little matching stone at the end
of the chain.
What is your favorite aspect of your work? The coming together of a design. I will take beautiful stones or the colorful Tagua nuts and start playing with shapes and sizes. Moving things around, mixing and combining until the design feels complete. That something inside you that says stop ! And then you know that it’s complete, is a great feeling.
Where do you sell your work? Online? Stores? Shows? I sell mainly online and at boutiques. Online at www.TaniaCaveneciaTorres.com I also have a shop on 1000 Markets at www.taniacavenecia.1000markets.com and you can find my jewelry at boutiques like By Hand in Berkeley California and Paseo in Portland Oregon.Which piece in your collection is your favorite? Why? It always seems to be what I am currently working on and that is the Acai and Tagua collection. The wonderful colors, the organic shapes and that it’s an unexpected natural material that you would’nt normally think of with jewelry. I like the challenge of making the pieces look natural and at the same time elegant and modern.
Where did you learn the metalsmithing part of your work, your hammered copper earrings are lovely. I have taken courses in soldering sterling silver, lost wax casting and precious metal clay but I am mainly self taught.
What advice would you give to new jewelry designers? To open their mind to different styles and techniques. There are so many books and classes available to really grow as a designer and expand their knowledge.
What goals do you have for your work and business?I have so many ideas in my head and things I want to experiment with that I really want to be able to balance my time so that the business aspect doesn’t take away from my time to create. ----------------------- I hope you enjoyed reading about Tania's beautiful and very unique jewelry.
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3 comments:
Thank you Nancy, you have a beautiful blog! It was a pleasure to be able to be a part of it : )
Love your blog here. I've enjoyed reading a few of your posts, and will be back for more.
Hi Jill....if you have come back to visit, I want to thank you for your nice comments on my blog. They are very much appreciated!
Nancy
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