Filigree, if done well, is so gorgeously ephemeral looking, yet is deceptively strong. Perhaps that’s why so much of it from the past has survived. My drive to preserve the process is inextricably linked to my desire to push its boundaries without compromising its beauty. Students often ask questions about making the tiny, twisted filler…
The first time I taught at Metalwerx in Waltham, Massachusetts, Cynthia Eid volunteered to be my teaching assistant, so she could test my techniques with Argentium® silver. As I said to the students in that workshop, having Cynthia TA was like having the Beatles as my backup band. Cynthia had long before discovered the educational value…
In late 2021, I had no idea how exponentially my life in and out of the studio would soon change when professional development instructor Jessica Abel said to Rauni Higson and me in a Zoom call, “How do you two not know each other?” It was a fair question. When Rauni and I recognized the…
Mindbogglingly quickly, the Earth has made yet another trip around the sun, and so this month marks 36 years since I began my journey as a metalsmith. Somehow 16 months have flown by since I began work on my exhibition and monograph Radiant Echoes to coincide with my 35th anniversary. Radiant Echoes evolved largely due…
I’m opening the digital doors behind the scenes to highlight the Eastern repoussé Turtle Doors, another piece from my retrospective Radiant Echoes that was hugely significant, partially because of the scale but mostly because I successfully pulled off something I’d never seen done before. It’s difficult for me to believe that it’s been eight years…
With repoussé, I always felt driven to take full advantage of the technique by making the relief appear intertwined and dimensional. However, like most artists practicing chasing and repoussé, I primarily first created what I now think of as “bumps on a background.” My intention is not to sound patronizing; some of the greatest repoussé…
We interrupt our regularly scheduled online exhibition with some exciting updates!I’m so excited to share that CraftForms2024 juror Jo Lauria awarded my necklace Ribbon Lace II the Juror’s Award for Jewelry last month at the CraftForms gala opening! I was already thrilled to be one of only three artists who had both their application pieces…
