Maria Huerta

Artisan Organization: Maria Huerta

Country: Andes

"I was born in Chimbote and moved to Lima to study law. I worked with inmates at the Callao Penitentiary as part of a multidisciplinary team, and our mission was to develop different creative workshops. The idea was to train them in crafts they could pursue when they left the prison. And it was there where, along with the prison inmates, that my own passion for jewelry making was born since I was part of the team that organized the jewelry workshops.

"I decided to take courses on jewelry making, and later I studied jewelry design at the Human Institute.

"A short time later a friend and I got together and started our own jewelry workshop, but we had to close it down between 2011 and 2013 when I got seriously ill. I was diagnosed with an autoimmune illness. I have now recovered my health as well as my passion for jewelry and natural gems.

"My dream is to have my art known by many people and I appreciaate the opportunty you give us to continue growing and developing our work.

"I see myself as a woman with a lot of energy, as well as dedicated and caring. This is what gives me the strength to carry on and hopefully in the future, I'll be able continue with social organization the workshops I was once involved with and support vulnerable groups in our country.""