Featured Artist: Aurora Bailey
May 17, 2013
Born and raised in Mexico, Aurora Bailey is an artist turned jewelry designer. Her work is inspired by what nature already has created, rocks. Precious and semiprecious stones are showcased as the stars of her pieces. Aurora’s love for rocks comes from her appreciation for all things created by nature. Through out history rocks have been essential to human civilization and it is still true today. Classically trained as a fine artist and currently getting a Masters in Contemporary Art, Aurora has taught herself everything about the business of jewels. Her one-of-a-kind pieces rely on the uniqueness and individuality of each and every stone hand-picked by her. As with her painting, Mexican motifs and textures make their way into her pieces adding a layer of complexity.
We recently caught up with Aurora and asked her some questions!
How did your journey take you from artist to jewelry designer?
I am a painter and have always admired jewerlry as a form of sculpture, in fact there have been many well-known artists that have taken part in jewelry design like; Picasso, Alexander Calder, and Georges Braque. I began to experiment with jewelry when I was pregnant with my daughter, Lola. Large-scale painting became a bit difficult with a belly, but sitting on a bench with metal and stones was a perfect way to translate art into small pieces of wearable sculpture. Now that Lola is older I have the luxury of creating both my paintings and my jewelry as well as doing a Masters of Contemporary Art. If you are curious about my art you can see it at www.auroradiaz.net
Aside from those beautiful semiprecious stones, what materials do you love to use most in your pieces?
Silver, I come from Guanajuato in Mexico, nicknamed “the city that silver built” for its silver mines.
Where do you get your inspiration for each piece?
Art, architecture and the colors of my magical Mexico, as well as textures that we take for granted in every day life, like the skin of a fruit or the textures on a New York City street.
If you were a semiprecious stone, which one would you be, and why?
A rutilated quartz. Why? Because it is such a beautiful stone, but one that is super complex and intricate in its natural design. A rutilated quartz is usually (but not always) clear with these intricate silver or gold needles of rutile in it. To me, the needles in it are like things in space, going at the speed of light, so fast that they just look like long lines of light. I know super abstract thinking ha ha
Tell us about any shows or special events that you have coming up!
I am currently being sold at Cynthia Rowley’s boutique on 78th and Madison Ave and also in her West Village store (376 Bleecker Street).
Where can we check you out on the web and in social media?
I am a social media junkie and my husband is in the IT business so I am always in the know with new technologies. I can honestly tell you I am obsessed with Instagram. So yes, you can follow me on Instagram, good old Facebook and Twitter.
SEE MORE OF AURORA ONLINE:
http://instagram.com/