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life in the facet lane

Natural Beauties

hat draws people to the Gemstone Flamingo brooch; Courtesy www.ricardobasta.com
W
Gulf Coast—besides
the year-round sun, is
our profusion of nature. Home grown
beauty on the Gulf is a breathtaking
smorgasbord of rarity and wonder.
It’s the stuff that inspires artists
working in every medium.
Celebrated jewelry artist Ricardo
Basta’s work is often both whimsical
and amusing. But the ultimate allure
by Diana Jarrett GG RMV lies with his expert craftsmanship. Basta’s color pallet for one flamingo is a hand-carved pink
Basta uses precious gems in the same
opal while its mate is depicted in exquisite deep pink sapphires.
way an artist splashes bold hues across a canvas. But Basta’s paints
Its beak and eye are crafted in black diamonds, while platinum
are wildly colorful gemstones.
legs shimmer in white diamonds. The sapphire flamingo studies a
His imaginative jewelry also pays homage to the wildlife we
quivering leaf plant set with demantoid garnets, which, when worn,
enjoy here. His flamingo brooch perfectly captures a sense of “calm
articulates with movement from its base. “Pink Sapphire flamingo
being”—while plant life underfoot sways in the breeze. “The wind
also articulates near the base of its neck, allowing it to turn and
moves the blades of the plant by the flamingo,” Basta points out.
look at the pink opal flamingo,” Basta explains. “This forms a heart
“This detail, while not the focal point, has its own presence in the
shape with the two necks of the flamingos, as if they’re sharing a
picture.”
kiss.”
And who isn’t mesmerized by seahorses? The delicate sea life
moves as gracefully as a ballerina. “It is the resting seahorse that
breaks free of the bed of coral,” he explains. “What a uniquely
beautiful and odd creature. It can move about with these small
wing-like fins. To recreate it as a piece of jewelry I had better
understand its incredible mobility. The seahorse is a true wonder.”
Basta exhibits his color pallet again with his seahorse brooch
which ingeniously converts into a pendant. The seahorse is fully
finished in a 360⁰ view, leaving no detail unfinished when worn
as a pendant. The creature comes alive with vibrant orange
spessartine garnets, and a head of white diamonds with black
diamond eyes and hand-carved rock crystal fins. “Playfully, the
seahorse anchors its tail around the bed of coral on the brooch.
Freeing the seahorse from its coral bed occurs when opening
the pink tourmaline collar-- releasing it and simultaneously
unwinding the tail from its base of coral,” he reveals. Thanks to his
imagination with colored stones, we can look with fresh eyes at the
magnificent nature surrounding us.
Facing everything we see like an awestruck

child keeps us in a state of wonder.

Gemstone Seahorse brooch – pendant; Courtesy www.ricardobasta.com

Contact Diana Jarrett at diana@dianajarrett.com Read www.color-n-ice.com www.dianajarrett.com

24 Life in Naples | April 2022