Artist Statement

All of my jewelry is handmade in my studio in Oakland, California. My studio looks a bit like a machine shop, with lots of tools and gadgets scattered on top of four large work tables that are set up for the various stages and processes of jewelry-making. There is a ventilated booth for soldering, equipment for polishing and finishing metal, a kiln for enameling, a metal shear, several torches, a drill press, belt-sander, rolling mills, an arbor press, and many hammers and hand tools such as saws, burs and files.

Each piece of jewelry I make is individually fabricated from sterling silver and 22k gold sheet and wire (as opposed to being lost-wax cast from a mold) and enamel. Because each piece is made by hand, no two pieces are really ever exactly alike. I produce work that is either one-of-a-kind or part of a limited-edition series. Every piece is signed and stamped with a registered hallmark that bears my last name, a small “key” symbol and a list of the metals used in the piece.

I am primarily self-taught in that I have little formal education in metalsmithing. After receiving a B.A. in Psychology and Art History from the University of California at Berkeley in 1982, I worked as assistant gallery director in a contemporary crafts gallery in San Francisco. This experience sparked my interest in metals. I learned basic metalsmithing by working as an apprentice for five years, and through a few classes and workshops at the California College of Arts and Crafts, Penland School, and the Revere Academy of Jewelry Arts. Most of what I have learned is the result of independent, ongoing experimentation based on technical information. I have gleaned from metalsmithing textbooks. I have been making a living at metalsmithing since 1989.

I am intrigued by metalsmithing in general because it offers a challenge in terms of technical skill and knowledge and problem-solving, and in jewelry-making specifically because it allows me to translate ideas and images from my imagination into a three-dimensional, small scale “sculptures” that people interact with in a very personal way - by wearing them.

In my metalwork I explore the relationship between color, pattern and surface texture. My design sensibility is based on my fascination with surface decoration and texture. I am particularly attracted to and influenced by the design, pattern and form of African artifacts, fabrics and masks, decorative motifs from Pre-Columbian Mexico and repetitive patterns and textures found in nature. I am also very interested in the cross-cultural use of symbols such as “x”s, crossed, spirals, repeating dot and line patterns, and mandala-like circles with images and/or patterns that radiate from a center-point.

After a year sabbatical in 1998 to study enameling, in 1999 I started to incorporate torch-fired enamels into my jewelry. I have never really liked using precious/semi-precious stones in my work but have always been attracted to the color and texture of beach stones. Since I like the idea of each piece being made entirely by hand, I decided to try making my own beach stones. These enamels are my brilliant, colorful "beach stones". I try to make the glass look stone-like by etching the surface of the glass slightly. I “draw” on the enamel by cutting into it with diamond-coated burs and refilling the resulting depressions with more colored enamel and re-firing. Each enamel requires 8 to 10 firings to achieve the finished design. Once the enamel is finished, it still must be incorporated into a piece of jewelry.

The metalsmithing techniques involved in making my jewelry include texturing (with a rolling mill, files and embossing tools), hand-sawing, forming (with hammers and/or an arbor press) and soldering. I solder various sterling-silver and gold shapes and wires onto a textured background of either sterling-silver or a combination of sterling-silver and 22kgold. Repeated steps of soldering, rolling, layering and texturing are necessary to complete each piece of jewelry. As a final step, I oxidize the silver (turn the silver black with a patina) creating a dark background to enhance the “high spots” of the silver, the warm yellow of the 22K gold and the colorful enamels. Needless to say, this is a time consuming process. Between the enameling and metalsmithing, a large piece such as a bracelet might take anywhere from 15-25 hours to complete.

I am very particular about the craftsmanship of my work. I get a tremendous amount of satisfaction when I hold a finished piece in my hand, and know that it is entirely hand-made in my studio, and that it started with an elusive wisp of an idea, some silver and gold sheet and wire and powdered glass. I hope that an appreciation of my work will come from a close examination of the intricacy of detail, technical complexity and quality of craftsmanship involved in its’ making.

I have exhibited my work nationally since 1985.

Résumé

Education

Art/Metals Education

Art/Metals Employment

Wholesale Shows

Selected Gallery Shows