THE ART OF HANDCRAFTED JEWELRY
I love creating art that evokes feelings – in both the wearer and the viewer. The right piece of jewelry enhances a wearers sense of being special... unique. The piece and the person become intertwined, an intimate performance of mood and motion.
My jewelry begins in my mind. I visualize a stone that speaks to me and place it in a mental landscape of silver and gold. I twist and turn the elements until the hills & valleys, and the paths & ridges harmonize and flow into the space around.
Once the basic design has revealed itself, I go to my jewelry bench and start transforming metal. Silver and gold sheets and wire are sawed, hammered, textured, fused and soldered. The shapes in my mind become a physical reality as I form metal and marry it with stone.
Setting the stones requires patience and care. Respect the nature of the stone, cradle it and yet let it sing. I often create complex hollow forms in which to set the stone. This maximizes the impact of negative space giving my pieces a sculptural feel. Metal and stone becoming one.
The best designs appear deceptively simple and clean. A result of painstaking devotion applied to creating a perfect result. This balance of craftsmanship and artistry transforms silver, gold and stone into a fluid interaction that tantalizes the mind, stirs one's emotion and tempts one to touch.
I continually work to improve my skills. For 16 years I have taken jewelry design and fabrication courses, and have studied with master jewelers in Atlanta, Chicago and San Francisco. Annual trips to the International Gem and Mineral Show, in Tucson, keep me abreast of current design trends and fabrication techniques. I am always looking for new ideas and techniques that expand my creative encyclopedia.
I was born and raised in South Carolina, and have lived in most of the southern states. I have experienced life as a professional artist, nurse, wife, mother and friend. Drawing on my southern roots as artistic inspiration, I blend timeless qualities with boldness and strength, in a refection of the character of the southern landscape and the women who live here.