Maria Tina Carter, from Seattle, WA, is a young, self-taught jewelry artist. Maria uses precious and semiprecious gemstones, 14K gold-fill wire, and 24K gold vermeil beads to intricately wire wrap and weave each piece. Her jewelry is particularly detailed and unique, but also classic and sophisticated. She approaches her work as a studied art; sketching every collection with composition, scale, and color in mind. The result is a harmonious combination of feminine and architectural elements that are, at the same time, entirely wearable and original. My work is strongly influenced by my travels. I am constantly inspired and fascinated by body adornments from around the world and ancient jewelry techniques. I love to travel to remote locations, and find myself drawn to the ornate, bold, and beautifully crafted jewelry of these areas. You may recognize some influences in my current collection from recent trips I took to I ndia , Brazil and Sri Lanka . I earned my degree in Sociology; globalization and social change. I originally planned on attending law school for human rights, but upon graduation I became overwhelmed with the desire to create. While I currently strive to grow and excel as an artist and business woman, I continue to be deeply moved by and connected to social justice issues. When I am not designing and making jewelry, I work for a local non-profit that focuses on sustainable development solutions in developing countries. In the future, I would like to combine my artistic skills with my intellectual skills through supporting art among under-served international communities as a means for socioeconomic development and cultural preservation.