Today we’d like to introduce you to Andrea Ortiz.
Hi Andrea, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
When I was a kid, my shyness drove me to extreme loneliness, which eventually turned into introspection and independence. I see my life as a path of self-improvement, auto-determination, and gratitude. As I was very shy to talk, I released my desire and need to express myself through my hands and creativity. I remember colored pencils and paper were my best friends. As I grew up, I went from drawing and painting to experimenting with different crafts. I always stood out in art class and knew that art would be my medium of expression.
I finished my undergrad studies in architecture. However, in the Laboral scene, I was always in front of a computer, disconnected from the materiality of the projects. Feeling detached from my passion inspired me to learn jewelry fabrication on the side. Seeing something materialize with my own hands deeply excited me! I pulled from some savings to build my own little jewelry studio in the service room at my mom’s place. There I started fabricating and selling my jewels to friends and family; I even fabricated pieces ordered by the Museum of Modern Art in Bogota, Colombia (my hometown).
I fell in love with the jewelry craft that I wanted to do and learn more than technical fabrication. Therefore, I applied for an MFA in Jewelry at the Savannah College of Art and Design. During my master’s degree, I had the opportunity to surround myself with amazing people, from professors to peers, guides, advisers, and friends. As well as I was able to meet talented personalities and artists from the jewelry industry.
Making jewelry is my way of manifesting myself and connecting with the world. Jewelry has an impressive characteristic of transmitting emotions and bonding with others when they wear something I made. This is not just a personal passion. I think making jewelry is important because the accessories we use communicate who we are. In this sense, my job is also to reflect in earrings or a ring what others want to say without words. Jewelry is like poems that can be worn daily and carried close to the skin.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
This journey, and I believe most journeys, present challenges and opportunities to grow and learn. My parents have been my life example for overcoming challenges. They had gone through almost losing the family house, my dad’s stroke, and regaining control over his body, to even surviving bullets during one of Colombia’s most violent times. My parents’ capacity to navigate life has always motivated me. For me in my creative path, one of the biggest challenges was to pay for my master’s degree and financially support myself during this time. To achieve this, I competed against approximately 1,000 people to win a loan that would help me support myself in the United States. By the specific time and circumstances, I applied to the college, this loan was my one and only chance to do my master’s. Fortunately, and with a lot of effort to achieve the requests for the competition, I was one of the winners, and I have happily graduated with an MFA in Jewelry from the Savannah College of Art and Design.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
From crayons and paper to manipulating metal, I have come a long way. I am now a jewelry designer and artist. I differentiate these two basically by the type of jewelry I explore within each category. As a designer, I do pieces that are wearable, with functional purposes and mechanisms. This could range from high jewelry to everyday pieces. I have done customized orders, which means one-of-a-kind jewelry, depending on the customer’s desire and story. I connect with others by helping them translate their memories or feelings into objects that they can cherish or gift. As a designer, I also do more commercial jewelry, which means multiples from one design. However, I always want to express and convey something, a message embedded in the jewels, making it relevant and significant to the target audience.
On the other hand, my art jewelry work has a more sculptural aspect. These are pieces to contemplate and reflect on. Their materials vary from metals to non-traditional jewelry materials. My most recent work, called Linking Realms, is a collection inspired by the connection that sprouts from the daily action of coffee. This collection embodies the untold and unseen links that tie humans through the simple act of buying, drinking coffee, or whatever role someone performs in the production and history of coffee. For this collection, I used toasted coffee beans, raw coffee beans, coffee filters, and utensils like spoons and cups. I found a way to involve them in a jewelry technique or piece to create the collection. I expressed through coffee how we are all connected; however, the intention is to allow anyone self-reflect and allow themselves to wonder on their own.
I am most proud of myself when I successfully use unconventional materials in my jewelry because I aim to transmit that beauty and luxury do not rely on the cost of the material but on the way you look at things.
I believe that what sets me apart from others is my view on luxury. For me, luxury is to be your own self and be comfortable and happy with it. My best work comes when I deep dive into my feelings. When I recognize something inside of me that I want to express. When someone connects to its physical manifestation, I feel I have succeeded.
Have you learned any interesting or important lessons due to the Covid-19 Crisis?
The biggest lessons Covid-19 taught me are resiliency, quick adaptation, and self-improvement. I was supposed to start my master’s in Spring of 2020. However, just when I arrived in the US, the world started to shut down. A week after my arrival, the college announced they were closing for the quarter. I returned to my mom’s place in Colombia with frustration, and my plans for 2020 canceled until further notice. My mom had worked for over 30 years in the family’s restaurant, which due to Covid had to be shut down. During this time, neither my mom nor I had income. I knew I had to act quickly, and I found a job in customer service from home, a job I never thought I would apply to due to my shyness. This job was a blessing in many ways. It allowed me to support the household needs. I had to overcome my shyness and speak constantly to unknown people while helping them with their needs and troubles.
Additionally, I discovered other skills like quick learning and teaching. Due to this, after three months of being in the customer representative position, I moved into a different role where I was in the training team. I helped new applicants learn the system and succeed to be able to join the company. Eventually, the college re-open, and I could start my master’s in the Fall quarter. Even though I was in this temporary job for a short time, I feel that it was a time when I was challenged to overcome my fears, comfortably talk to unknown people, and even lead them to success. Now I am more confident; I can speak in public and build a network that has helped me share my work and express properly my art with the use of words too. Covid was a challenging time that pushed me to become my better self.
Pricing:
- “Intangible Spoon 3”, spoon, bronze, $5,000
- “Intangible spoon 2”, spoon, coffee beans and gold leaf, $2,000
- “Offering Relationship”, rings-cup, nickel silver and coffee filters, $3,000
- “Cup of Home”, necklace, bronze, coffee beans, gold leaf, $12,000
- Butterfly set “Offering Peace 1”, spoon, bronze, brass, porcelain, gold plating, $3,000 / “Offering Peace 2”, ring, bronze, brass, and gold plating, $1,500, “Offering Peace 3”, brooch, bronze, brass, and gold plating, $2,000
Contact Info:
- Website: https://andreaortizmolina2.wixsite.com/anturio-jewelry
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anturio_jewelry/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrea-ortiz-698052206/
