::2007 Studio Tour::

Ethnic jewelry and folk art have been the inspiration of the majority of our work. The humble materials used in folk jewelry and the ingenuity in which disparate elements are assembled together are intriguing and often surprising. Learning from this rich tradition, we try to reinterpret their aesthetic with the untraditional, contemporary material PVC, the main ingredient of polymer clay and the ancient jewelry element, glass. The slow process of making our work gives us a connection to the folk craft tradition in which hard work and persistence is a way of life.

Growing up in Philadelphia my cousin and I spent nearly every Sunday of our teenage years visiting my Grandfather's coppersmithing shop. There, he patiently taught us basic jewelry making using coppersmithing techniques. Growing up in the city, I found myself picking up strange and interesting objects off the street: rusty washers, bottle caps, different stuff would catch my eye. I began to look at discarded things in a different way and learned to incorporate them into my art at the School for American Craftsmen in Rochester, NY where I studied metalsmithing.

The unusual thinking I learned from my grandfather and the strange stuff I incorporated into my work define my jewelry today.I graduated in 1992 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree and have been an independent jewelry maker since.

I've worked many jobs in my life: I was a graphic designer back before computers dominated; I canvassed door to door raising funds for universal healthcare; I've done lots of food service; I've traveled to far off places, come home with bushels of photos and sold them in shows; I've even sold "Happy Hats" during the holiday season; and of course I've taught silversmithing and jewelry design for years. As diverse as these jobs are each has contributed in some way to where I am today and to the great little studio and teaching facility I operate in the University District. I hope you will come by and have a look!