Aruba-land of cactus and jewelry

Aruba-tera dushi

There’s a small island in the middle of the Caribbean Sea, that’s full of colors and cactus. Aruba. Lots of people know about it because of the song. Yes, The Beach Boys!

Aruba is a special place, the lights are amazing right after sunrise and even thought it’s a small island, there’s lots of things to see, from crystal clear waters to deserts and high cliffs and sometimes you can even find yourself in the set of western movies.

No secret that half of my creations are born from my experiences while travelling but this trip was truly special because it was my first project that was actually all about jewelry. I went to Aruba thanks to Culture Moves Europe, a mobility grant for artists to learn, connect, create and explore. I had an amazing tutor, Gloria (https://www.gloriafiliciana.com/) who moved to Aruba from Argentina, many years ago and now she makes seaglass jewelry that she collects from the shores.

Silver ring with seaglass-made by me in Gloria’s style

I learned a lot from Gloria, not just about working with seaglass but about business and selling, the way she cares about her work, the choices she makes and to see all her efforts that she puts into her business was very inspiring to me. She’s a super nice, easygoing person, I felt like we knew each other for years and I really hope to see her again.

About my project: I wanted to create a small jewelry collection on the concept of water pollution and environmental preservation, very important topics when it comes to Aruba-and the rest of the wold too. Even though the crowded touristic beaches are super nice with crystal clear waters, some other parts of the island are full of trash. My collection is a reminder that we are responsible for our environments, even if we’re on holidays.

The pieces I created with the guidance of Gloria are inspired by Aruba’s gorgeous corals that thanks to the huge amount of tourists visiting all year round, are in danger. The pieces are made of trash that we collected during the project from the beaches and the street. I used soda cans for the base that I covered with papermache I made from packages and boxes and -of course-added seaglass as a touch of preciousness.

It was exciting and challenging in the same time to work with different materials than usually and I won’t switch to papermache jewelry but I definitely had fun creating in such a beautiful environment.