Other People's Jewelry: Daniela Villegas Jewelry

Many jewelry artists are afraid to praise other jewelry artists for fear of 1. denigrating their own work (your own pieces must not be very good if you are admiring the work of others) and 2. being accused of copying if evidence or seeming evidence of similarities are to be found.  However, I think that if you are secure enough in your own point of view and aesthetic, there is no reason to feel inferior nor guilty of plagiarism.  There are so many different ways to execute ideas, even WHEN people have the same sources of inspiration, you make a butterfly and I make a butterfly and it still doesn't have to come out the same. Just because we work in the same media does not mean we are substitute goods for each other.  A painter can praise another painter, a director can praise another director, a jewelry designer can praise another jewelry designer.  It makes the world of creativity a richer and more inspirational space if we openly recognize good work, even when it's not our own.  If you're worried about copying, then don't copy.  

So today I am here to admire Daniela Villegas jewelry.  I love her interpretations that are both selectively literal yet poetic, she takes the core elements of her inspirations (scarabs, porcupines, and more)  and mirrors their beauty in the most lovely materials--delicious opal or real porcupine quills in a manner that is definitely not minimal but never overwhelmingly ornate nor kitschy.  She's found the space between scientifically accurate and elegantly lyrical--such a rare combination.

 So many bug-inspired jewelry pieces dive straight into pave-ing entire expanses of the surface in same colored stones creating such a glittery onslaught on the eyes  making a $20,000 piece indistinguishable from a $20 piece sold on a table in union square. The somewhat unusual color combination of stones manages to be most harmonious.  And the iridescent wings, how often do designers make the effort to truly mimic that quality? How often do they even think that it's possible?

centipedes are always left out of the cute bug game until Daniela came along.  She is loyal to the true form of the icky critter while creating a luxurious ring

Again, the cute but not cutesy.  And it's the perfect blend between realistic and cartoon-y. I don't remember the last time I saw a porcupine piece, never mind a porcupine piecesthat had the quills in accurate stylized disarray. They're always too neat.  And the incorporation of actual porcupine quills lends texture without an excessively rustic feel.