The odds of senior David Balmilero majoring in jewelry when he took his first jewelry class junior year were slim.

He initially took the class after taking welding because he wanted to learn to solder and develop his metal-working skills.

“I absolutely hated it,” Balmilero said. “I hated Ms. [Deena] Amont. It was the worst, and now she’s, like, my favorite person and it’s my favorite class.”

Working with metal is one of Balmilero’s favorite parts of jewelry-making because the material is difficult to work with when creating a piece of art.

“It’s something that doesn’t want to do what you want it to do,” Balmilero said. “So it’s always a constant struggle to make something out of it.”

Amont recognizes Balmilero’s dedicated work ethic to create difficult pieces, and attributes that to his success in jewelry making. He challenges himself to create difficult designs, such as a complex locket in the shape of a rib cage, heart and spine as Amont observed. The process took five or six tries to complete.

“He has good designs and what impressed me the most was his work ethic and his ability to challenge himself,” Amont said. “He has the ability to persevere and work hard to master skills.”

Balmilero works hard on the process of perfecting his intricately designed pieces but likes the outcome to be more simple.

“All of my stuff is really subtle,” Balmilero said. “I don’t like over-the-top [jewelry] because it doesn’t need to be the focal point of anything. It’s very subtle, and just there.”

Balmilero made the choice to major in jewelry because it is something he enjoys and he’s good at it.

He will attend the University of Kansas, which is ranked in the top 10 best metals programs in the world.

In college, Balmilero can move forward with his creativity, innovation and passion for working with metal and jewelry making. As the end of the school year approaches, Balmilero has begun to take a more experimental stance when creating jewelry. His development in style and technique will certainly help him in college and in the future.

“David’s recent work has an experimental quality because he is trying many new, difficult techniques, but he still maintains excellent craftsmanship,” Amont said.