I make my home on a small ranch, in a small horse town in Southern California with our Icelandic horses, Dozer our Rottweiler (now deceased), and local wildlife. 

In 2007, California wildfires took our original home.  What seemed to be a tragedy, turned into an enlightening and positive period for me.  Navigating the resurrection of our home and lives was a great awakening to our resourcefulness, our grit, and the blessings of family and friends that can so easily be taken for granted.  In 2014,  I retired from teaching high school Special Education and decided to invest more seriously in my jewelry making.   I relocated my studio from my bedroom to its official spot about half way between our horses and the house.

I’ve been a lifelong maker moving from sewing, knitting, and needlework, to beading mosaic, woodworking and stained glass. In 2010 I began my metalsmithing journey. I was blessed to find wonderful teachers, mentors and collaborators that encouraged my progress.  Learning from and with them is as satisfying and elevating as the resulting work. It seems all my other passions have led me here.

My jewelry making process is a lot like me.  I tend to look forward to the next great thing, and thus many of my pieces are one of a kind or limited runs.  Although I can repeat processes, no two pieces are exactly the same. 

In addition to traditional jewelry making materials and techniques, I enjoy bringing in some of the workhorse materials of the human world….steel, concrete, and high-end acrylics. In my thinking, beauty and functionality can coexist so I strive to make pieces that unify that geometry, form, and balance of the human designed world with the curves, texture, and color of the natural world. When I’m successful, wearers and viewers will sense one of those connections.  After all, isn’t everything about making connections?