My dear friend, Mary Van de Wiel, invited me to share a picture of my work for the next 5 days. Instead of showing pieces I've already made, I decided to use the challenge to make a new drawing each day. Here is my first: a turtle that personifies steadfastness and tranquility, two qualities I am embracing this year. 

I invite you to take this challenge as an inspiration to further explore your creativity, and to share your results on Facebook or Instagram using this hashtag: #5days5drawings. I will add my other drawings to this post as I go along.

Feisty Calavera

I'm having a huge –3 day– online sale next Wednesday, Thursday and Friday (February 4, 5 and 6), with the lowest prices I have ever offered in my Etsy shop. You will find many brass, nickel free bronze, and sterling silver pieces from my cast collection. 

The sale begins at 10 am on Wednesday, and ends at 10 pm on Friday (Mexico City time).

All of the jewelry shown here will be for sale (and much more).
You can find my online shop here.

One of my resolutions for 2015, is to learn new techniques and try different mediums. I've been exploring basic jewelry-making methods for the past five years, so I feel its time to add new skills to enrich my work. 

In my research, I found that the Geology museum in Mexico City offers lapidary –or stonecutting– classes. As I arrived, I was amazed by the beautiful Santa María de la Ribera neighborhood, and by the museum's extraordinary building.

The structure was built in the late 1800's, during the presidency of Porfirio Díaz, who decided to break away from Spanish colonial style and modernize the city. The facade is made of carved volcanic rock, and the building combines French and pre-hispanic motifs.  

Mexico City offers a variety of small rustic workshops where you can learn skills inexpensively. They are sponsored either by universities or by the government, and they have an eclectic mix of students from all parts of town. I've learnt ceramics and jewelry techniques in such workshops, and I enjoy the guild-like environment. These studios are focused mostly on techniques and not on creativity, but I have found that I prefer to develop my creative ideas alone.

I will be sharing my progress as I learn to cut and carve gemstones, which I plan to add to my jewelry.

I just added all of my one-of-a-kind pieces to my online shop on Etsy. To those who are new to my work: Etsy is the only place I sell my jewelry, and I ship to most parts of the world using registered post.

Check it out here.

I've had many doubts on my creative path. I spend a lot of time in solitude and this makes my mind travel to all sorts of ideas –many unstopped for several days– some not easy to live with. I never thought that navigating the deep waters of my psyche could be so daunting. Sometimes these doubts stop me for days, but always (so far) something brings me back. 

I've realized that I can't live without returning to the subterranean river of my imagination. I need the silence of those waters, the space they provide, their solace. My entire existence makes sense when I visit them, when I hold out my hand to grasp those images that I later bring to life, either in metal or on paper. Knowing this, I persist.