Ruby Santamaria Murillo
2nd Place – “Blooming”
Ruby Santamaria is a junior in high school and is discovering the world of jewelry that she loves very much. She is focused on learning as much as she can about craftsmanship and design. Ruby comes from a family of craftspeople and feels she has found an outlet for her own creative voice. Her winning piece “Blooming” is about the different stages a butterfly and flower go through in their lives and reflects the changes she has seen in herself.
Artist Interview:
Q. How did you come up with the title?
When I make jewelry, I like to incorporate the growing of a person. I always think of a butterfly because the stages of its life are the same as a flower.
Q. What/who was your inspiration?
When I think of the stages of a person’s life and I think of myself. I feel that growing up is well represented by a flower and butterfly.
Q. How long did it take to make the piece?
About a month. I was making two pieces at a time.
Q. What challenges did you overcome while you were making it?
Putting the jump rings on because I had two sets of wings on both sides and needed to include both.
Q. What do you plan to do with the piece?
Since I am still young, I want to keep all my pieces, so I know where I started, how I grew.
Q. Will this piece inspire other work?
I hope so. When I do a piece, I want each of my pieces to be better than my last.
Saul Bell Design Award
Q. What did you feel when you learned you’d won?
I was in school and I ran up and down the halls I was so excited. I was with my friend, Peyton Rogers, who also won, and my jewelry teacher, Mrs. Evans.
Q. Whom did you tell first about winning?
After I was with Peyton and Mrs. Evans, I didn’t have a chance to tell my family until I got home. My parents only speak Spanish and they didn’t completely understand what an honor the SBDA was.
Educational and Professional Background
Q. Of all the arts and crafts, why did you choose jewelry?
I really love my family and siblings. My father is a mechanic and my mother is a seamstress. I love to work with both of them. When I look at my father’s work it inspires me with his tools and mechanical knowledge. And my mother’s work inspires my fashion and design sense.
Q. What was the first piece of jewelry you ever made?
This was before I went to high school and in the jewelry program. It was a wire and beaded bracelet. The first one I made was red and had a rose bead on the top.
Q. What was your training/academic background in jewelry-making?
I am still in high school and in the jewelry program. I have been there for three years. By my sophomore year I chose to focus on jewelry.
Q. What is the best advice you received?
“Never take the easy way.” I don’t remember who said it, but it was a teacher at Creative Side Jewelry Academy in Austin and he was teaching there.
Q. What other awards, honors have you received in your career?
Regional State VASE (Visual Arts Scholastic Events)
4 out of 4 ranking with now a total of 5 jewelry pieces
State VASE (Visual Arts Scholastic Events)
4 out of 4 ranking with now a total of 5 jewelry pieces
Scholastic Arts and Writing
1 Gold Key
2 Silver Keys
3 Honorable Mentions
Stock Show Art Contest
2nd Place $1500 Scholarship
Q. What is your definition of “success”?
Success is when you learn something. My uncle once said, “No one is your enemy and no one is your friend, but you can always learn from everyone.”
Creative Influences and Environment
Q. What or who do you think has been the strongest influence or inspiration on your work?
I really think a lot about my family and I want my parents to be proud. I want them to see I am actually putting hard work into what I do.
Q. What artist, dead or alive, do you most admire? Why?
Marilyn Monroe. I love to look at her. A lot of people don’t understand what she went through. She had so many fine qualities and made something good out of herself. She was just very beautiful in many ways.
Q. Is the product or the process more important to you? Why?
The process is most important. I hate polishing but love everything before that. I think it is the process more than the end result.
Q. What is your favorite tool?
My saw frame. It is the first tool I ever got for myself. It was a gift from my father and that makes it so important to me. He is a serious man and this was a huge compliment from him.
Q. What metals, gemstones, processes do you enjoy most?
I like casting and using copper. I like copper because I can make something very elegant from it.
Q. Describe your studio.
My studio is at school in a large room. My teacher provided us with our own benches this year.
Interview by Marlene Richey