ARTIST STATEMENT

From the first minute I was introduced to jewelry making, my love of creating large metal sculptures transformed in scale. Making fold formed jewelry from sterling silver and copper sheet still allowed me the noisy fun of hammering, pounding, firing and soldering metal, as well as the challenge of designing in a compact, pared down environment. And you really can’t beat being able to wear your art!

My recent work focuses on two areas: basse-taille enamel jewelry and functional insect-centric ceramics.

Basse-Taille describes semi-transparent enamel over embossed patterned copper. Embossed pattern is enhanced with black underglaze then multiple layers of semi-transparent enamel are applied and fired so that the pattern can be seen beneath the enamel. This labor intensive process created enamel components with great warmth and depth of color. Each piece is completely individual as the colors after firing vary slightly based on specific conditions. All links and components to complete the jewelry piece are sterling silver.