Artist Bio

I’ve been making jewelry my whole life. As a child, my friends and I would trade beads and string them into necklaces, bracelets, and earrings. I collected found objects like shells, rocks, and twigs to incorporate into designs as well. These early memories are the foundation for my love of creating and development of a design esthetic.

My grandfather was a blacksmith and I have memories of watching him escape to the forge and manipulate metal into a new forms. I wish I had been able to learn more from him in that forge before he passed away. I was never allowed IN the forge while he was working, I could only watch from a safe distance, but I was young and so sparks and fire were a safety issue. Still, I see my grandfather and his creative example as a key influence in discovering my own creative spirit.

I took my first real metalsmithing class in the 1990s. I learned to use torches, saw patterns, hammer, polish, and finish designs. The one thing I remember from that class is my teacher telling me to “finish every piece you start, because someone will want it.” I liked cutting and forging metal, but it is a messy business. I took my first glass beadmaking class in 1998 at The Corning Museum of Glass (CMOG). Much like my grandfather in the forge, I was able to use fire to take nothing more than a rod of glass and turn it into…anything I wanted to turn it into. Glass offered me a cleaner artistic process that I could own from start to finish. Since that first glass class, I have spent many years practicing and taking classes from well-known artists.

I have added precious metal clay (PMC) to my jewelry making and this process has given me a way to create elements I wouldn’t have been able to make before. I am also learning new tricks with cloisonné, champlevé, and basse-taille. These methods are types of enamel work where you layer ground glass on metal shapes to add color to designs. There will always be new ideas to explore with glass and metal.

Influence for My Glass Bottles and Beads

I’m no expert on world religions, but I’ve long been influenced by forms of prayer that involve sand or floral offerings. They are beautiful folk art expressions, mindfully made. Examples include: Canang Sari, daily Balinese offerings with food, flowers, and coins made to maintain balance and peace on earth, as well as appease the Gods in heaven and demons in hell; Kolam, geometric designs that are drawn with rice powder at a building’s threshold to welcome the divine and inspire good vibrations; Rangoli, Indian art on sidewalks made with powders, spices, and colorful flower petals; and Mandala sand drawings made by Tibetan monks which represent a healing or purification prayer.

Oddly, there are a number of parallels between these visual prayer traditions of Asia and my beadmaking right here in America. I use soda lime or soft glass made from sand and oxides. Everything I make is created from the center outward with the mission of creating balance and symmetry, channelling the best energy, and following techniques that have been practiced over years and across cultures. Inspired by the beauty of flowers, I place dots of various colors and manipulate them into tiny floral arrangements— a floral wreath around a matrix of glass. Creating is a form of meditation and as I focus, I channel energy into what I make. (There is a lot of prayer going on as well, hoping the glass will cooperate with me.) As I finish each element or piece of jewelry, I offer my best self through my work to be shared with those who can appreciate the art and process of what I do.

Beyond the spiritual relationship and floral influence in my work, other interests include world folk art, fine crafts, the beauty of the Finger Lakes region in New York where I live, good music, my family, and my Scandinavian heritage (think rosemaling). I prefer simple, clean, uncluttered designs. Colors are usually used as punctuation to one base color or design idea. (I have, however, been known to make a few wild and bright creations too.)

Where I work…

The natural surroundings in central New York state and the greater northeast United States influence me and my work. There really isn’t anything like a red barn on a green hill with manicured fields to inspire recognition of order and beauty. Boating on the Finger Lakes can wash away all of the strain in life. Skies reflect in our lakes and surround you in unpredictable weather gifting beautiful blues, grays, and sunsets of vibrant pink-oranges. (We really do have the best sunsets anywhere.) The wineries of the region offer a reason for celebration and the area’s culinary flavor is diverse. We enjoy a cycle of changing landscapes rich in floral gardens, fall foliage, and snow squalls. Visit our area and look around! You can find colors, ideas, or experiences to seed new creative work and professional growth every day.

I have two studio spaces, one is for glass and one for metal work and finishing. I do not offer an open studio for visits at this time.