Collector turned creator
During my career of teaching art in public schools as well as a mental institution, I gave my creative side wholeheartedly to my students. Now retired, I am able to focus on the artist I am and the art I create. I have always been a collector of wonderful whatnots and thingamajigs. As a child, my mother would empty my pockets on laundry day, only to find sparkling stones, rumpled feathers, shriveled earthworms, and tiny bones left behind by a now songless bird. These treasures were lovingly placed in the boxes, jars, and tins that housed my precious collections. This affinity for honoring the old, the odd, the dead, and the cast offs of others led me to an assemblage style of jewelry making. Add to that my love of old photos veiled in mystery, and you have the formula behind my Mourning Glory Jewelry. So, with a curtsy, a nod, and an occasional wink, I memorialize long lost souls by pairing them with odds and ends to create unique pieces of wearable art that tend to spark conversation, compliments, and coveting looks where ever they are worn.