My jewelry is mostly sterling, and is embellished with precious and semi-precious stones, other metals and mixed media. Sometimes I etch images in brass and copper, then solder those pieces to sterling and color with a resin inlay. Other times, I might color on polyshrink, a clear plastic that shrinks when heated, and set it in a bezel. Still other times, I solder a gold filled border onto my sterling and “paint” a picture that I then set with a color resin.
In more detail
I take a sheet of metal and draw pictures all over it with permanent ink resist. I then etch the metal, just like a kind of printmaking. Instead of printing the plate, I saw out all the little pictures. After sawing, sanding, and filing each picture or object I arrange it on my jewelry to make a little story. The theme of the narratives is often about relationships: friendships, partners, siblings. I also have symbols that to me are about reaching for your dreams with your whole self, about staying focused, about finding time for quiet time, about the opposites in our lives and many other things. I encourage people to see what is meaningful for them. After arranging the pieces, I solder each one onto sterling. After the jewelry has been cleaned and burnished, a liver of sulfur patina is applied. Then I take off parts of it to highlight the pictures. Next comes one of my favorite parts. I enjoy mixing the resin and “painting” the pictures. Last, I add any stones or little pearls. I love the part of my jewelry making that comes from the same place that painting does. The process is an exciting exploration of, see what happens if. When I hold a piece in my hand, the satisfaction is knowing it came from my heart. It is love, joy, hope, understanding and empathy that I am trying to pass on through my work.
Process
