Aaron Lopez Bautista creates exceptional braided leather jewelry using age-old techniques. Born in Mexico City to an Aztec-Spanish mother and a Mixtec Indian father, Aaron is a self-taught artist.
Only working with native, organic tanned leather, there is no chemical processing in his artworks. He bevels the edges of the leather strips and finishes his jewelry with wool and glass to make the pieces supple. The only tools he uses are a knife and needles. With his dedication to traditional, handmade methods, Lopez Bautista creates braided pieces that incorporate fashion, form, history and community.
"One time my mother took us to the country town of Guanajuato Mexico. Walking on the sidewalk I saw a tiny piece of leather, so clean, and the smell was so fresh. I put it in my pocket. Then I found a copper wire, and in the late afternoon I put the two together in a few different ways until it looked like a bracelet. That night was the last time I saw it, when I was a little kid."
