About the Artist

Artist Statement

Archaeology has always been a cornerstone for me and I love my work to have that ‘just- unearthed’ look. I also adore the look of vessels dredged up from thousand year old wrecks in the Aegean with that metallic crust that forms on them over time. A vessel made in fire retains an imprint of the time it was fashioned, so the tracks of time in archaeology are often measured in pottery shards. A shard though it is broken is part of the “unbroken” record of history forged in a flame. That is why I love to make vessels so much, I feel I am adding to the unbroken line of those who have gone before.

Another strong influence in my life is astronomy and the lure of distant worlds like the planets that must exist in the outer rim of our galaxy, among the Magellanic Clouds. That is what inspired my “Excavations from the Planet Luna” series. As I make each piece, I like to visualize it in the hand of some future archaeologist as part of a dig on a remote planet, somewhere in the Magellanic Clouds. What would they think of the piece as they brushed away the dust of centuries? Would they interpret it as personal adornment or ritual object?

Techniques

Flameworking: The glass beads are made from Italian soft glass with frits/powders added at a glass torch onto stainless steel mandrels then annealed in a kiln.

Wax Carving: I often add handles to the bead in jewelers wax carefully carved into shapes resembling metal handles. I also carve wax for casting into silver and gold.

Electroforming: Conductive paint is applied to the wax and the pieces are put in an electroforming solution for several hours, then finished in the traditional way. I love the look of the copper granulation that builds up if you leave the work in for a long time. When I do the electroformed handles on beads, once the handles are electroformed, the beads are put back in the kiln and taken up high enough to burn the wax completely out from the inside leaving the handles hollow. This creates an extremely light bead that’s good for wearing but has the look of a heavily encrusted metal piece, like the old vessels you find at the bottom of the ocean, sort of a sculptural “trompe l’oeil” if you will. This can be followed up with silver and gold electroplating.

PMC: I’ve recently added PMC to my repertoire. It is instant silver gratification and I love the way it fuses right onto the glass beads.

Sand Blasting: Glass beads are masked out by hand with various materials and then subjected to a pressurized blast of a cutting medium. This gives the glass a two toned and two level effect.

Metalsmithing: I use conventional techniques of working metal by bending, hydraulic pressing, soldering and casting.

Resume: I started stringing beads when I was 4 years old, pyracanthia berries on kitchen string and I have worked as an artist ever since. I studied art at Oklahoma City College and Oklahoma Science and Arts Foundation, specializing in silversmithing, I went on to wax carving and finally production work. Always a technique junkie, I decided to add glass to my silversmithing skills: anything you can do with a flame looks fun to me! So, I took my first lampworking class in ‘92. It opened up a whole new wonder-world of glass for me. I am now serving my second term as Vice President of Organizational Development for the International Society Of Glass Beadmakers.