Teaser Preview of Interview with Rebeca Mojica of Blue Buddha Boutique

In a few days I'll be posting the full interview of Rebeca Mojica the owner of Blue Buddha Boutique. Rebeca is a fascinating person worth learning more about. I hope with this preview of the upcoming interview, you'll see what I mean and come back for the full discussion.

Here's one of the questions I posed:

In your "about" statement you say "When she is not weaving maille, Rebeca enjoys cooking (especially baking bread), learning languages, and contemplating quantum physics and fractal cosmology." A lot of my friends are fans of Science Fiction (as am I) and I'm very interested in your thoughts on contemplating quantum physics and fractal cosmology - what lead you to an interest in these areas, how does it (or does it?) relate to your art?

OK, now you've really opened the floodgates. :-) My interest in the universe started when I read A Brief History of Time for my 11th grade English class. (Yes, English class!) I was instantly fascinated. Within a few years, I was volunteering at the local Planetarium and reading every lay book I could about astronomy and cosmology. It is so interesting to me, that the world we live in has so many layers.

Everything is absurdly complex, yet somehow it all fits together so elegantly. I feel like a detective, trying to explore the science of the world we live in--the biology of cells, and beneath them, the chemical reactions that make biology work, and even deeper the physics within atoms and molecules. I hope I live to see the day when we discover whatever "particle" is smaller than quarks.

I believe that the universe/multiverse is a fractal (a hyperdimensional fractal, actually) and so we will never discover what the "smallest" particle is, nor will we know the span of the complete universe. We can only keep exploring and try to discover as much as possible. But that's so exciting! It means we will never run out of stuff to learn.

I often turn to the science and math around me for creative inspiration. Whether it is the structure of chemical compounds, the shape of crystals, the golden triangle, or the fractals in trees, for whatever reason, those types of things are really exciting to me. When science stimulates me in this way, my creativity is unleashed! I feel as though I can create anything, do anything.

The Japanese Bulls Eye weave was one of the first patterns I created, and it came about while trying to create a fractal-based weave. I have plans for a fractal necklace, and plan on someday developing an entire collection of pieces based around mathematical concepts. (Though I suppose you could successfully argue that all chainmaille patterns are mathematical!)

Isn't that lovely? Science and artistry complementing each other. I know a great many of us who design and create jewelry have a similar passion about our work and it's wonderful to see it expressed so beautifully.

For more about Rebeca and Blue Buddha Boutique, please come back for the full interview - as I said, I hope to post it soon.