Rising Stars: Meet Dilia Salvador of Longmont,CO

Today we’d like to introduce you to Dilia Salvador.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I was born in Chile, and studied design at the School of Applied Arts,University of Chile. Before moving to the United States,I apprenticed with master goldsmith Katya Kroll, in Santiago, that inspired me to start a career in Jewelry making.I went to the Community College of Denver in the mid 70’s and took silversmithing classes to further my education; eventually helped set up the jewelry Studio ,and taught at the Community College at the Westminster Campus .My work has always been inspired by primitive cultures, and folk crafts from around the world. I consider myself a “studio Jeweler’,designing, and making every piece; have worked with different metals, including gold, my passion is to mix materials and produce something unique and different. I was part of two different galleries,Confluence in Denver, and Boulder Arts and Crafts in Boulder. That allowed me to have freedom to experiment ,and come up with different bodies of work all the time. Now, I am semi-retired, still enjoy working with my hands and lately producing more fiber wearables.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It has been a smooth road, and I am immensely thankful to have been able to make a living with my art.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I started making jewelry in Chile, not having much knowledge, tools,or guidance, some of my first pieces looked very primitive. My early work was done mostly of copper wires, agates, and paper maché beads. I believe that when you don’t have all the tools and resources, you have to use your imagination to solve the problems.Instead of soldering something , I had to rivet the metal and use other ways to connect them.Not sure what sets me apart from others, may be that I come from a different culture, and somehow ,my works shows it.I am most proud to have been able to make a living having fun!!

What were you like growing up?
I didn’t have many friends as a child ,and used to entertain myself playing with mud, or chasing butterflies. I always like to draw, and my father gifted me a course”by mail” ,where I had to draw faces and people (copying them from pages that they sent to me),and I would get the critique and suggestions on how to correct them,(also by mail). In elementary school I used to play marbles games,I guess that was the early start of my love of beads!!! Also , I used to draw paper dolls, with different ,changeable dresses, and sold them to my classmate,( I think I was a merchant in a past life!!),I like to sell everything I make,I don’t get attached to my work.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/diliasalvador/