About
the Designer
I started making jewelry in grade school, while simultaneously painting, writing, and playing music. My first pieces were large “flower-power” pins in the 60's for my mother: cardboard dipped in gesso and painted. She saved them all and now I've got them again. As a private joke, I dipped a pair of swimmer's ear-plugs in gesso and painted them and made them into earrings for my sister. She never did figure out what they were constructed from.
“The shape is everything.” If I had to, in one sentence, sum up my approach to jewelry design, that would be it. My focus is one-of-a-kind, hand-crafted pieces in silver and gold with semi-precious stones.
Some designers start with a stone and design the setting around it. For them, the stone is the focal point, and the design is there to enhance it. In my work, stones, when I use them, are there to embellish or accent the shape, like punctuation. Gemstones have to be an organic part of the design and not look like they were stuck on as an afterthought. I prefer light to shine through the stones, and I love inclusions; they add an organic, natural imperfectness. But I don't use “freeform” stones; they're usually large and oddly-shaped and the stone ends up dictating the design and shape of the piece.
Why make one-of-a-kind pieces? Because I have a thousand different designs in my head and I want to produce as many of them as I can in my lifetime. I want to appeal to the consumer who seeks out and appreciates uniqueness. Like a painting, each piece is given a title. There exists jewelry that is part of the world of fashion, and then there is jewelry that is part of the world of art. In the fashion world, trends and movements come and go too quickly for my taste. In the art world, styles are not quite as readily discarded (even though some people consider jewelry to be “craft” and not art). But in the world of “wearable art” jewelry, there is some jewelry that is only art; only considered to be jewelry because it could be worn, but wasn't necessarily made to be worn. I think of my jewelry as art, but it is definitely made to be worn. I would rather make a piece that becomes a woman's favorite and gets worn often, than make something that's kept in a case and trotted out only for special occasions.
People who own my jewelry think of it as more than decoration. It becomes a pet, a friend, an ornamental companion. Like clouds, everyone sees something different in the shapes and as a result, they become good-luck charms, fertility symbols, amulets, talismans...
I started making jewelry in grade school, while simultaneously painting, writing, and playing music. My first pieces were large “flower-power” pins in the 60's for my mother: cardboard dipped in gesso and painted. She saved them all and now I've got them again. As a private joke, I dipped a pair of swimmer's ear-plugs in gesso and painted them and made them into earrings for my sister. She never did figure out what they were constructed from.
“The shape is everything.” If I had to, in one sentence, sum up my approach to jewelry design, that would be it. My focus is one-of-a-kind, hand-crafted pieces in silver and gold with semi-precious stones.
Some designers start with a stone and design the setting around it. For them, the stone is the focal point, and the design is there to enhance it. In my work, stones, when I use them, are there to embellish or accent the shape, like punctuation. Gemstones have to be an organic part of the design and not look like they were stuck on as an afterthought. I prefer light to shine through the stones, and I love inclusions; they add an organic, natural imperfectness. But I don't use “freeform” stones; they're usually large and oddly-shaped and the stone ends up dictating the design and shape of the piece.
Why make one-of-a-kind pieces? Because I have a thousand different designs in my head and I want to produce as many of them as I can in my lifetime. I want to appeal to the consumer who seeks out and appreciates uniqueness. Like a painting, each piece is given a title. There exists jewelry that is part of the world of fashion, and then there is jewelry that is part of the world of art. In the fashion world, trends and movements come and go too quickly for my taste. In the art world, styles are not quite as readily discarded (even though some people consider jewelry to be “craft” and not art). But in the world of “wearable art” jewelry, there is some jewelry that is only art; only considered to be jewelry because it could be worn, but wasn't necessarily made to be worn. I think of my jewelry as art, but it is definitely made to be worn. I would rather make a piece that becomes a woman's favorite and gets worn often, than make something that's kept in a case and trotted out only for special occasions.
People who own my jewelry think of it as more than decoration. It becomes a pet, a friend, an ornamental companion. Like clouds, everyone sees something different in the shapes and as a result, they become good-luck charms, fertility symbols, amulets, talismans...