Lover of Beautiful Objects -from anthropology to blacksmithing to jewelry

When I was a senior in college, as an anthropology major, I took a jewelry class on a whim, as an elective. I thought it would be easy. Boy oh boy was I wrong. I got completely hooked on it! I graduated with honors in anthropology, with a firm appreciation for the link between culture, process, and object. I stayed in the area and kept taking jewelry and metalsmithing courses non-degree until I developed a strong enough portfolio for graduate school. I also took workshops in blacksmithing during this time.

I went to San Diego for grad school and received my MFA in jewelry and metalsmithing in 1996. I moved to Wisconsin and started my career as an independent artist. Circumstances allowed me to focus on blacksmithing and forging. Friends referred me to architects and interior designers, bringing me enough work to keep me busy. During this time I heard about this little handmade online venue called Etsy. I opened my shop in February of 2006, calling it "knitsteel", reflecting my appreciation for both fiber arts and blacksmithing. I was busy with commission work, but listed and sold many of my experimental and fun jewelry pieces, as well as many decorative steel leaf wall pieces and sculptures.

After many years of large, time consuming, demanding ironwork, several kids, and a move further south, I decided to scale back in size and started working in jewelry again. Small scale work lets me work faster and more spontaneously. I want to work with more spiritual and narrative themes, so I'm taking some time to develop these lines through drawing and journaling. You'll keep seeing these pieces show up in my shop, slowly, as I continue to grow as an artist and metalsmith.