I am an award-winning jewelry artisan who has been designing and fabricating my original pieces since 1997. I focus my work on metal clay and enameling as I can completely fabricate my designs with my own hands. I work from my home studio, which continues to take up more and more space in the basement!

I use Metal Clay, a relatively recent material developed in Japan in the early 1990s and introduced to the USA in 1994. I use fine silver, bronze, copper, white copper, and sterling silver clay. This material allows for a new approach to creating metalwork. Before firing, metal clay is most commonly composed of 90% metal particles and 10% organic binder mixed with water to create a malleable clay. While wet, it can be shaped, molded, textured, or sculpted. Once the desired shape is obtained, it is left to dry. In the "greenware" state, it can be carved, assembled into complex constructions, refined, and sanded to create my unique jewelry. It is then fired in a kiln at high temperatures. The organic binder is burned out, and the metal particles fuse, producing a pure solid metal object. Out of the kiln, the piece can be sawed, soldered, sanded, and polished and can also receive various surface treatments such as patina, oxidation, and enamel.

 

Fine Silver is my favorite metal because it is so clean and takes my designs beautifully; plus, it is heirloom quality, which means you can pass your piece forward--copper and bronze are my next faves as they have great metal tones and a distinctive feel.