I received a jewelry making kit for my birthday in 1970...which consisted of coffee beans with holes through the center, red beads, and elastic cord. First forward 38 years, and you'll find me once again using red beads and elastic cord, but this time I'm using the coffee beans to make coffee, while I design and create jewelry. I don't remember beading after the kit contents were depleted, but in the ensuing years I've enjoyed various types of embroidery, macrame', and decorative painting. I've always felt a need to create.
I started making jewelry again in 2005, as a way to create special, heart-felt gifts for family and friends. And as a hobby I thought (mistakenly) would be easy to do, while my then 2-year-old daughter napped. Having been blessed with parents who encouraged me to take things apart, and an adoring (and adored) grandmother who always sang the praises of my hand work, I confidently set to work. I began making piece after piece, after piece, after piece...until I was left with no other choice than to start selling my designs - or give them away - which I still do on occasion.
My goal as a jewelry artist is to create jewelry that is beautiful, interesting, and well-made, with fine attention to detail. I truly feel that my jewelry designs come through me, because when I sit down to make something, I rarely have a design in mind, it just happens. Almost all of my pieces are one-of-a-kind designs - in part because I simply don't remember from piece to piece exactly how I made it. I do a lot of custom work, and I enjoy the challenge of creating special pieces that have meaning to the wearer, and are an extension of the love felt by the giver. I love using tools, and with the advent of self-serve gas stations so many years ago, my childhood dreams of being a gas station attendant/mechanic were dashed. Jewelry making satisfies my need for tools, and my hands stay much cleaner. I live in Pennsylvania with my husband, our two children, and our dogs, Duncan and Lily.
