About
Creating has been a means of self expression for me. Around thirteen I started making jewelry- bead lumes, FIMO clay, all the things you could imagine from the craft stores. At sixteen I received a wire working kit for my birthday, a booklet with designs, some different wires, cutters and needle nose pliers. I must admit, at first i found it very frustrating, as oppossed to the other art media which I always found came to me easily. Many would have given up, but I loved the challenge and I have been wire working ever since. I first sold my wire jewelry at a local art show when I was in high school.
I continued my jewelry making education by receiving a Bachelors of Fine Arts from Bowling Green State University. During college I spent a summer in Florence, Italy and studied advanced jewelry design abroad where I finalized my education in all the traditional jewelry making techniques. During college I also took advanced classes in glass blowing, ceramics, sculpture and photography, but at the end of a long day in the studio and classes I would find myself on my couch making wire jewelry. I actually paid my living bills during college by doing a couple weekend art shows a month. I have always just loved working with wire.
Shortly after college I found anodized aluminum wire. It is a new and exciting medium to create jewelry out of. Anodizing is a surface-treatment of aluminum that colors the metal, many companies package beverages in cans that receive this treatment for bright colorful designs. One thing I really love about the aluminum is that it is hypo allergenic, it will not react with your skin. I am highly reactive to most all metals, and as you can probably imagine sawing, filing and working with them is much worse. In my days of working with the traditional metal my hands were constantly green or black or brown depending on what metal I was working with. Once finding aluminum, about 16 years ago, again I have not looked back, and I have never had any issues with reaction working with it almost daily for endless hours. I acquire my aluminum wire from a wide variety of companies in order to get the rainbow of colors I have available, these companies anodize the wire by placing the aluminum in electrically charged chemical baths. The color is the metal and the shiny finish of anodized aluminum is aluminum oxide, which will not tarnish or change. Aluminum is the lightest metal, hypo allergenic and the natural color anodized is brighter than sterling silver. I just love it.
All the pieces of jewelry I create are my original design and handmade by me, using the skills and techniques I have developed over these 24 years of wire working. I prefer to make the wire flow and look natural, rather than kinked and manipulated looking. My designs are elegant and convey a lot of energy with many spirals, squiggles, colors, and long gentle bends. The only tools I use,other than my hands, are flush-cutters, needle nose pliers, wooden mandrels, hammers and an anvil. At every show I make items specialized to customer’s size or color preference, which puts my skills out on display and really conveys to the patrons that everything in my booth is original and handmade by me.
In recent years I have expanded my catalog of creations to include some more sculptural items. I first began with Christmas ornaments, which with the beautiful colors of the wire and my whimsical style, was kind of a natural next step. I took inspiration from my own techniques developed in jewelry, having a new design idea and taking them to a larger scale and developing a wide variety of trees, angels, wreaths, and crosses. Again super light weight, even Charlie Brown's tree can hold these up, and they will stay nice and shiny to reflect all those lights on your tree.
Then one day while making ornaments I had idea of how to make a mask, which I've always been into halloween, masquerade and what not. I have even been down to sell these during Mardi Gras in New Orleans. They are very functionaly wearable masks that you can mold to your face and are quite comfortable. I also make trees of life in a variety of sizes and colors. My newest creations are fun and whimsical pumpkins, as well as spiders, I do really love halloween.
I am an artists who sees no limits with wire, I hope you find something you like, enjoy.
