I took an odd and circuitous route to arrive as a jewelry artist. My educational background is in mathematics and I worked for 15 years as a computer analyst. I never would have guessed as I was clocking into IBM that I would some day become a full time artist.

I did, however, grow up around creative people who loved to make things. My grandmother had the country attitude of making what you can from what you have available. She used to collect old beer cans from the roadside (she would never drink it herself!) which she would use to make elaborate, Victorian, doll chairs by cutting and curling the metal. I still remember the sight of my 80 year old grandmother jumping out of the car in pouring rain and clambering up the shoulder of the road to collect some discarded bottles--which she decoupaged and made into vases. Both she and my mother sewed, knitted, tatted, quilted, embroidered and, in general, did the whole gambit of country crafts; which they, in turn, taught to me.

I left the corporate world when my children were little and needed more attention. As they became independent, I was able to spend more and more time pursuing my own interests. Instead of returning to the competition of the computer industry, I instead turned to the creative world that I knew as a child.

I’ve done sewing, quilting, crocheting, and various painting. But I love to make jewelry above all other creative endeavors. I love making jewelry because: 1) I love jewelry; 2) I love being creative; 3) I love working with beautiful things, like the precious and semi-precious stones I use; 4) I love working with tools and getting to constantly learn new techniques. It is a great life to wake up in the morning and realize your job that day is to do something you love to do!