artist's statement
As a child, I could often be found daydreaming, dressing up my Barbie dolls (and giving them short, chic hairstyles so unlike their packaged hairdos), dressing myself up in my mom’s old dresses with 1960’s costume jewelry, sewing together little projects, and stringing beads. Many of these childhood activities were initiated by my mother, who was so good at putting together occupational entertainment for me and my siblings to keep us busy learning in a creative way. So, it’s fitting that I have ended up as a maker, specifically one who focuses on personal adornment.
After majoring in Art History in college, I landed a great job as Design Director at Gretchen Bellinger Inc, a high-end textile design firm recognized by the international architect/interior design industry for highly refined color palettes and unique wovens. It was working closely with Miss Bellinger that I received an in-depth color education; my eye was trained to see not only colors themselves, but the subtle and complementary relationships between them. Miss Bellinger was instrumental in giving my artistic talent wings; she was both encouraging and accepted nothing less than the best effort and design. She remains a continuing inspiration to me.
Shortly after relocating to North Carolina, I was accepted into East Carolina University’s School of Art & Design in the MFA program in Metal Design. With much hard work, encouragement, guidance, and the excellent teaching skills of my professors, I found my individual voice as a metalsmith and enamelist. Through my mentor Linda Darty, I fell in love with enameling, the art of fusing pigmented glass to metal. It’s the medium I work with most frequently, although I also experiment with high karat gold, semi-precious stones, wood, shell, and encaustic, and vintage ceramic and glass buttons.
I use a minimum of materials: cutting, manipulating and forming sheet copper intuitively, using my hands, a few basic tools, and a specific image in mind. I like the challenge of creating visual interest quietly and modestly. My inspirations derive from architectural, natural, and industrial sources. The color of the object and its form are of equal importance; my challenge is to achieve balance between the two.
Copper, laden with natural surface oxides, lends itself well to experimentation with enamel. I often fire the enamel longer than necessary; I then have an aesthetically defined, blackened edge that reinforces the object’s formal outline and textural detail. Enameling this way is very direct; the copper and the glass merge with little interference. I emphasize the honest, straightforward quality of the handcrafted object by highlighting surface detail and connections, using techniques such as sgraffito, twisted fringe, mitred edges. I believe that these processes make the work more visually inviting and accessible to the viewer.