I am Sigi Contreras, jewelry designer, proud Mexican born in Nayarit and currently living in Puerto Vallarta. I have loved handcrafting since I was a child and it was until 2003 when I discovered my true passion: designing and making jewelry.
It's funny how God guided the course of my life because I started making jewelry recovering from a serious illness, it was like a therapy for me! I think everything was worth it! Even though I could have never imagined myself working in this wonderful field I don't seem to want to stop now as I feel an insatiable desire of learning new media and techniques.
My designing style has evolved through the years. I started making very casual designs but inspiration has led me to make more elaborate and intricate jewelry. Most likely it was in 2008 when I made my first bead woven necklace with seed beads, it was inspired by the Bead Dreams finalists' catalog I saw in the Bead&Button magazine. The very first techniques I learned after that were brick stitch, beaded crochet and fringe, and the result of these was "Monique", the very beautiful necklace in gold and green and tiger eye beads.
When I am about to start a new design I like making drawings of it first, this way I can get a better understanding of what I have in my mind. Sometimes I even jump out from my bed late night to make at least a sketch of my new inspiration. When I finally like it, I move on to selecting colors and materials, and I never stop changing some of them or adding the new ones as I go. I've always got trouble selecting the colors since I am color blind to some greens, browns, red and deep purple, and sometimes I need to label my beads and ask for help to recognize their true colors.
I remember I used to say I didn't like green, now I think that both turquoise and blue are the colors I use the most, though I truly switched to select metallic finishes and pearl colors. I can spend hours making the same design and I try to work hard to fulfill the needs of my gallery store. Sometimes my designs are so elaborate that even if I want to finish them shortly I have to spend more than 2 or 3 weeks making the same design, and I am seriously thinking on moving on the next level.
"Bead as you go" is really not my style, but I have to say that a master of this concept has been one of my greatest inspirations and many of you have to know her for the stunning bead embroidery work, that is Sherry Serafini. Thanks to Sherry, I've chosen my favorite jewelry making technique. Marcia DeCoster is another wonderful artist who inspires me; and what I know in right angle weaving I learned from some of her amazing projects.
I started incorporating polymer clay elements onto my jewelry designs two or three years ago, and I would not like to stop, on the contrary, I want to learn more and more. For every person who would like to know polymer clay making I would highly recommend Donna Kato's books because they taught me what I know about those techniques to date.
I really don't know if I have a favorite style as I let my own inspiration tell me what I have to do next. Sometimes I do not feel like making anything at all and occasionally I wish I could stop thinking of what to do.
Mexico with its rich history, culture and traditions is my main inspiration. I love my country, love its colors, love what surrounds me, I just think that I'm in the right place. I live almost in a beach, the ocean gets me relaxed and it helps me think and connect to myself every time I need to do this. I love vintage jewelry, especially the 1920-40 Cartier's designs. I admire Indian culture so much and its jewelry influenced on my vision of making jewelry for sure. Bollywood movies are my favorite ones and every time I watch one of my beloved movies I start to imagine a new design.
My family has always supported me in what I do and they have been always with me when I was in need of them. I have to thank them and all my friends because they keep me going. Sometimes I pass through hard times but thank God there is always a right person next to me who pushes me forward and tells me to keep going. Running a jewelry business is sometimes hard, there are periods of time when I do not sell anything at all and it's frustrating, but then again a friendly person supports me.
One of the best advice I remember is that, "You are not an artist of how much you sale, but of how much love and effort you put on what you are doing. The price of being original and not going with the flow is good, but it takes some time to be paid off. At the end, what really counts is a personal satisfaction - and that pays it all."
My gallery on MyLovelyBeads.com
About author:
| Sigi Contreras, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico | |
| Email address: | sigict@gmail.com |
| Website: | www.sigisart.com |
