About
the Designer
My focus is one-of-a-kind,
hand-crafted pieces in copper, bronze, silver and gold with semi-precious stones. I used to primarily use the technique of Lost-Wax Casting, but I'm now enjoying the exploration of sheet metal fabrication, enamel, and ceramics.
I
started making jewelry in grade school. My first pieces were large “flower-power”
pins in the 60's for my mother: cardboard dipped in gesso and painted. After spending some years painting and song-writing, I got back to jewelry-making in the 80s, casting pieces in polyester resin and selling them in a couple of Manhattan boutiques.
“The shape is everything.” If I had to, in one sentence, sum
up my approach to jewelry design, and art in general, that would be it.
Some designers start with a stone and design the setting around it. For
them, the stone is the focal point, and the design is there to enhance
it. In my work, stones, when I use them, are there to embellish or accent
the shape, like punctuation. Gemstones have to be an organic part of the
design and not look like they were stuck on as an afterthought. I prefer
light to shine through the stones, and I love inclusions; they add an
organic, natural imperfectness. The Japanese concept of Wabi-sabi is integral to my aesthetic. But I don't use “freeform” stones;
they're usually large and oddly-shaped and the stone ends up dictating
the design and shape of the piece.
Why make one-of-a-kind pieces? Because I have a thousand different designs
in my head and I want to produce as many of them as I can in my lifetime.
That's why I moved from Lost Wax to enameling, besides the fact that I got to work in color; I could make something new in one weekend instead of spending months carving in wax.
I want to appeal to the consumer who seeks out and appreciates uniqueness.
Like a painting, each piece is given a title. I think of my
jewelry as art, but it is definitely made to be worn. I would rather make
a piece that becomes a woman's favorite and gets worn often, than make
something that's kept in a case and trotted out only for special occasions.
People who own my jewelry think of it as more than decoration. It becomes
a pet, a friend, an ornamental companion. Like clouds, everyone sees something
different in the shapes and as a result, they become good-luck charms,
fertility symbols, amulets, talismans...
