Vancouver student wins 2018 Vaccaro Family Scholarship

by carly_midgley | December 17, 2018 12:01 pm

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When second-year Vancouver Community College[2] (VCC) student Ruby Rue was crafting her submission for this year’s Giovanni Vaccaro Family Scholarship[3], more than one kind of ‘Starry Night’ was on her mind.

The theme for the 2018 competition, ‘Starry Night’ carries a slew of different meanings for different individuals, and Rue drew on this in her design[4]. Titled ‘Eventide Glow,’ her sterling silver piece reflects humans’ longstanding fascination with the stars and incorporates different techniques to imply versatility.

This outside-the-box thinking seemed to resonate with the judges, as Rue took home the scholarship for 2018. In recognition, she will receive a $3000 prize, while VCC’s jewellery art and design program will receive $1000.

“I’m very honoured and excited to receive this award,” Rue tells Jewellery Business. “It feels like a real encouragement to continue making jewellery and will be a great help paying for tools to help me realize my future designs.”

She counts her experience in other art forms (such as welding and film), as well as the influence of her parents, among her inspirations as an artist. After completing her final year at VCC, Rue aims to launch her own jewellery line and studio, distributing her pieces both online and in local stores.

When asked what advice she would offer to students who are new to the industry, Rue’s message was simple: keep at it.

“I would say just do not give up. There are a tonne of things to learn and it may feel overwhelming at the start, but it gets easier,” she explains. “Also, do not be afraid to get help from someone else—you cannot be an expert at everything.”

Source URL: https://www.jewellerybusiness.com/news/vancouver-student-wins-2018-vaccaro-family-scholarship/

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