Link 'n Link

Stainless steel and gold leaf

My apologies for my long absence...

I wish I had a good excuse for not posting in so long. The truth is I simply felt the need to hide away from the world for a little while while I let things brew. I wish I could say that I have been super productive in my absence but it has been a slow process of reevaluating what I want to make and why I want to make it. So far I don't have any enlightening moments to share. Well that is not entirely true. They occur, and then as time passes life's distractions (work, family, friends, etc) make the certainty of those revelations seem unstable or unlikely. So here is what I have decided: life changes to quickly to try and define who I am, what I make, and how I want to be perceived. Therefore my new goal is to simply live in the moment and pursue whatever passions strike. Lucky for you that means I am ready to share what has been going on the studio and would greatly appreciate any feed back or critique. Thanks for indulging me. 

By the way, this small series is based off the idea of infestations:

 Ant Bowl

Powder coated bronze

Ant Bowl- detail

 Roach Soap

Cast soap

 Moth Brooch

Sterling silver, Glass, Gold leaf

Wing Brooch

Sterling silver, Mica, Stainless steel

Gettin' Published...

I am happy to be a part of this year's exhibition in Print in Metalsmith Magazine. Sorry I failed to write a post when the issue hit the shelves. I figured I could post in time for the actual exhibition which is being showcased at the Metal Museum in Memphis, TN. Below is a link to the Museums website.

 http://www.metalmuseum.org/fresh

I am also happy to announce that one of my rings was include in NEW RINGS: 500+ designs from around the world by Nicholas Estrada and in Thomas Manns new book, Metal Artist's Workbench: Demystifying the Jeweler's Saw

Posts of new work coming soon...

Jewelry workshop with Taiwanese students

I had the pleasure to teach a wonderful group of students from Taiwan during a 2 week workshop at University of the Arts. I must admit that before the class began I had my doubts. However, the class was an absolute success mostly due to our fabulous ESL staff, Dr. Lin, my wonderful assistant Melissa Guglielmo , and of course the students themselves! The class was on small metal forging and forming and in order to get credit the students needed to make 3 projects with only about 45 hours to work in the studio! Insane I know but where there is a will there is a way.

Below are just a few pictures of the work the students made

The chased cat eye bracelet above is by Yi Bang, the only grad student in the group. He has a wonderful way of thinking three dimensionally that is so different from my own thought process that I can't help but be amazed

The forged ring above is by Fanny and my photo does not do it justice but it is supposed to be a goat sleeping.

This bird fibula was made by Ariel who I think may have made the most pieces during the class

This bracelet is by Ho-Lin

Rather than show everyone's piece individually above is a photo that perfectly illustrates how their creativity surrounded everything they touched.

And of course we ended with a little party in the crafts conference room. I hope to stay in touch and one day take my new Taiwanese friends up on their offer to come visit!

some new stuff

Award Ribbons

Here are a few other new pieces...
Blue Leather Ribbon brooch
Leather, sterling , stainless


Gator Grain Ribbon brooch
Alligator grain, sterling, stainless

Snake Skin Ribbon brooch
Snake skin, sterling, stainless


Snake Skin Ribbon earrings
snake skin, sterling

New Work 1

As the semester is ending I am finally finding the time to attend my much neglected blog. Rather than dump a bunch of images all onto one post I am going to try and spread them out onto a few.

Below is a process shot as well as the finished enameled brooch
Front View:

Back View:
Snake Head Brooch
Enamel, silver, tourmaline, stainless steel