| Michelle Tapia Designs Santa Fe, New Mexico Artist Information |
| Michelle Tapia Jeweler and Scrimshander |
Michelle was born October 10, 1968 in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where she currently resides. She began making jewelry in 1992 for Denise and
Samuel Wallace. Having no other formal art or jewelry training except her interest in creativity that emerged as a young child, Michelle
quickly learned silver and goldsmithing, lapidary, and the art of Scrimshaw. When the Wallace's moved from Santa Fe to Hawaii, Michelle,
who had already started her own line of cat and dog pieces, decided to try to make it on her own.
She currently participates in various art shows and features her work at several galleries. Besides her cat and dog line, Michelle also creates
small wearable devotional pieces called Relicarios. She has also added many new designs to her animal line as well as bunnies. She has also
been studying Buddhism and the Eastern Deities, and has made several pieces with the image of Buddha and brightly colored Lotus blossoms.
These were also inspired by the 16 month long award winning collaboration piece with well known carver Ron Rodriguez Archuleta.
She has received several awards and honors for her work. The Heard Museum in Phoenix recently purchased a piece entitled "Adam and
Eve" for their permanent collection, which will be included in an exhibition of Latino art sometime next year.
" I'm inspired by anything of beauty, goodness, love, and animals. I love learning about other beliefs and customs. For me, it
is not about "religion", it is about a universal acceptance and compassion for one another."
Michelle Tapia.
Samuel Wallace. Having no other formal art or jewelry training except her interest in creativity that emerged as a young child, Michelle
quickly learned silver and goldsmithing, lapidary, and the art of Scrimshaw. When the Wallace's moved from Santa Fe to Hawaii, Michelle,
who had already started her own line of cat and dog pieces, decided to try to make it on her own.
She currently participates in various art shows and features her work at several galleries. Besides her cat and dog line, Michelle also creates
small wearable devotional pieces called Relicarios. She has also added many new designs to her animal line as well as bunnies. She has also
been studying Buddhism and the Eastern Deities, and has made several pieces with the image of Buddha and brightly colored Lotus blossoms.
These were also inspired by the 16 month long award winning collaboration piece with well known carver Ron Rodriguez Archuleta.
She has received several awards and honors for her work. The Heard Museum in Phoenix recently purchased a piece entitled "Adam and
Eve" for their permanent collection, which will be included in an exhibition of Latino art sometime next year.
" I'm inspired by anything of beauty, goodness, love, and animals. I love learning about other beliefs and customs. For me, it
is not about "religion", it is about a universal acceptance and compassion for one another."
Michelle Tapia.
| Michelle Tapia Mindy Tapia For ordering information contact Mindy Tapia at webmaster@kittyhope.com |
Shows:
* Contemporary Hispanic Market- (Summer and Winter)- Santa Fe, New Mexico
* The Heard Museum Spanish Market- November- Phoenix, Arizona
*Valentine's Trunk Show- Packard's on the Plaza- February- Santa Fe, NM
Awards-
* Best in 3 Dimensional- 2001 Contemporary Hispanic Market
* 1st Place Precious Metals- 2002 Feria Artistica
* Best of Show Contemporary- 2002 Traditions Show
* Best in Fine Craft and Best of Miscellaneous- 2005 Contemporary Hispanic Market
* Best of Show & Best of Precious Metals-2007 Contemporary Hispanic Market
To visit Michelle Tapia Design's Studio please call or e-mail:
505-438-4367 kittyhope@aol.com
* Contemporary Hispanic Market- (Summer and Winter)- Santa Fe, New Mexico
* The Heard Museum Spanish Market- November- Phoenix, Arizona
*Valentine's Trunk Show- Packard's on the Plaza- February- Santa Fe, NM
Awards-
* Best in 3 Dimensional- 2001 Contemporary Hispanic Market
* 1st Place Precious Metals- 2002 Feria Artistica
* Best of Show Contemporary- 2002 Traditions Show
* Best in Fine Craft and Best of Miscellaneous- 2005 Contemporary Hispanic Market
* Best of Show & Best of Precious Metals-2007 Contemporary Hispanic Market
To visit Michelle Tapia Design's Studio please call or e-mail:
505-438-4367 kittyhope@aol.com
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| Welcome to Michelle Tapia Designs Scrimshaw is created by painstaking etching, or scratching, on ivory or bone using ink to hold the image. Practiced for centuries by the Inuit and other native groups along the Northwest Coast, it was adopted by the Yankee whalemen of the early 1800's. Two to five year voyages quickly became monotonous, so the whalemen turned to working with baleen, whale teeth, and jawbones, all of which were in abundant supply. In fact, on many ships, whale teeth were part of the pay, and were often traded to shopkeepers in port for goods and services. The origin of the word is obscure. One interesting etymology is a Dutch phrase meaning, "to waste one's time." The term "scrimshaw" also means carved. I learned scrimshaw along with silver and goldsmithing, lapidary and finishing work from Denise Wallace and her husband Samuel. I worked with them for about 8 years. Denise is Aleut from Cordova, Alaska and most of her designs are Alaskan. When I started to create my own pieces, I continued to use the art of scrimshaw on fossilized ivory. I prefer to use the ivory because it polishes up better and has much more color and less cracks, but I sometimes use Tagua Nut or Elk Antler. The ivory I use is around 20,000 year old walrus tusk and is considered legal ivory. I never use fresh ivory or elephant ivory. People who are familiar with scrimshaw are often times confused that a Spanish girl from New Mexico is working on fossilized walrus tusk. My designs come from my heart and my culture. My love of animals and anything of beauty influence me most. Many of my images are images I created as a child, drawing or painting on rocks. I feel blessed that I had the opportunity to learn from one of the country's best artist/jeweler, and I love being able to share my work with other people. Scrimshaw is a lost art and although my technique and style is different than any other, it is a wonderful feeling to be able to share what I have learned and meet people who have connected with my work. Please feel free to look around the website to get a feel for my work. I have featured a small selection of my collection on this website and will periodically add new pieces. Please feel free to e-mail me with any questions you may have or for ordering instructions. Thank you, Michelle Tapia |
