art earrings

Crowned by lavish white blossoms, these glamorous earrings are show-stoppers. The images are created with tiny seed beads, placed by hand, one at a time. A very long beaded fringe cascades like a waterfall in black, white and grey. By talented artisans of Mexico's Huichol Center for Cultural Survival and Traditional Arts, they bring a modern look to a traditional art.

A classic black and white combination is always a winner, especially when it comes to sophisticated accessories you can wear any time, anywhere, such as these lovely fused glass mosaic button earrings featuring 18k gold-plated nickel posts. Mexican artisan Fabiola Quevedo hand-crafts a pair of earrings that transcend fashion to become what could certainly be considered a work of art.

Artisans from the Hands of Atitlan take inspiration from classic jewelry arts to create a gorgeous fashion statement boasting the Guatemalan region's unique essence. The team uses glass beads to create these dangle earrings, whose geometric shape is enriched by a combination of black, white and grey hues. Made for a dapper soul, the pieces are also equipped with sterling silver hooks.

The gallant Talavera technique decorates these heart-shaped dangle earrings with lustrous leafy details. But artisan Juana Ponce of Mexico doesn't stop there, as she crowns the pair with natural agate stones—each calling for healing energies. Sterling silver hooks complete the pair, adding an ethereal glow.

The mariachi, a distinctive musical style, is a musical group comprised of singers dressed as the traditional charro, or elegant gentleman cowboy from Jalisco. Women mariachis, however, do not dress as escaramuzas, the feminine counterpart of the charro, but adapt the men's dress. The narrow pants with their ornate silver buttons become a long skirt. The short jacket, white shirt and tie remain the same as does the fancy sombrero, and she traditionally wears silver earrings with her hair pulled back into braids or a ponytail. Working in ceramic, Luis Morales depicts a catrina as a mariachi.

The word catrina is widely used in Mexico to mean "elegant and polished." Lithographer Jose Guadalupe Posadas created the skeletal Catrina, who was later immortalized in the murals of Diego Rivera.