Life, for me, is always a process of curiosity, imagination, and experimentation.
Since 1991, I’ve been making jewelry in a variety of forms. I began with wrapped-wire jewelry, using natural stones and sterling silver, experimenting with the interaction between form, aesthetics, and engineering, and occasionally dabbling in various other kinds of metalwork. in 1994, one of my suppliers began offering shrink plastic for sale, so out of curiosity, I began experimenting with that as well, and found that it appealed to the painter in me. I saw it as a way to use color and painterly design in my work in a way that I hadn’t previously been able to do, while maintaining some of the sculptural elements of wirework.
Over the years since then, I have experimented with a number of techniques, materials, and designs, and, because the medium itself is almost limitless, I continue to be inspired to create in this vein. Also, because my materials cost little, I am able to offer my unique, hand-painted designs at affordable prices. Each of my pieces are one-of-a kind, because, although I often draw a line drawing to use and re-use as a template, each piece is drawn either freehand or from the template, and then painted individually, cut out, baked, and finished with a non-toxic polyurethane.
Many of my designs try to evoke something in the imagination of the viewer, to tell a story, and create a sense of magic. My style is heavily influenced by the 19th-century Art Nouveau aesthetic because it is one of the visual languages of fairy tale, but I also draw on many patterns and colors that I see around me every day.
All of the materials that I use are non-toxic, both during the process and in the finished product. Since many heavy-duty glues are quite toxic, I use cold connection techniques, including rivets and wire attachments. Additionally, I am careful to reuse as much as possible, and generate less than one bag of trash in my studio per year.
