Complete the Look

Los Gatos Earrings

Item P11260

$125.00

Description

Chilean artist Vania Ruiz was trained as an architect, but turned her eye for design toward handcrafted jewelry instead. These statement earrings are the first chapter in the illustrated adventures of Ruiz’s own beloved feline companion. Hand painted on resin with sterling silver accents, each is a unique piece of wearable art.

Details + Dimensions

• Handmade in Chile
• Sterling silver, resin
• Post back
• 2-1/4"L

Story

Chilean artist Vania Ruiz trained as an architect, but found her true calling as a jewelry designer after studying goldsmithing and learning to work with resin. “Suddenly everything began to make sense,” says Ruiz, “the calm I felt while I was drawing, the need to build ideas with my hands, memories of playing in the botanical gardens with my mother and making mermaids out of tree bark or building little sculptures from branches and seeds.” Ruiz collects unconventional natural materials on her travels, in her neighborhood, and from local markets and uses them to create wearable works of art. She is drawn to working with resin because of the way it allows her to play with light. The reflections and transparency make resin not just a canvas for her mixed media vision, but an essential element of the composition. Ruiz's architectural training informs the structure of her pieces. "The resin reminds me a lot of reinforced concrete," she says of the challenge of pouring resin into shapes made of sterling silver. Each piece is handcrafted by Ruiz in her home studio in Viña del Mar, on Chile’s Pacific coast. Seeds, twigs, seaweed, alpaca fiber, and more all become part of these small worlds, each with a story to tell.

Complete the Look

I have wanted these earrings for a couple of years. So I finally decided to splurge on this pricey pair. I love them, as any cat fancier would. The hand painting is exquisite. The post backing seems a little flimsy and doesn't seem secure. I will only wear them for special occasions.