ARTIST PROFILE

I search to capture the chaos of life through the process of handcrafting, after over 40 years experience in jewelry design each piece is just as unique as each of the hundreds of blows from the hammer forming it. As a young girl I experimented with different jewelry techniques, my formal training in metal work occurred later in studio classes; however it was mostly through my own exploration that I learned how different metals reveal themselves and take shape. This unique education has allowed me to pursue my career with a vision guided by my experience and intuition, leading to designs that let the metals manifest their own destiny as flowing natural forms.

In 1974 I met John who owned Peter James; together we bought a jewelry supply company called Makens, began a family, and I moved my studio to design full time for Peter James. Located in the Industrial Center Building in Sausalito for the last 35 years, we have seen an evolution in styles as well as prices (gold was $32 an ounce when I first began). One element has remained constant; dedication to family owned and operated business that is deeply rooted in the tradition of American craftsmanship. My experience as a production designer has cultivated a new approach to my jewelry creation, expanding my collection of one of a kind and commissioned pieces. Drawing from nature as well as life experience, I find inspiration in everything from my mother’s shorthand notebooks, to the pages on which my children first learned cursive, to a scar on my wrist received when climbing a barbed wire fence with my grandfather. The resulting works have been described as innovative and uncommon wearable works of art.