People often ask me how I began Goldsmithing; the alchemy and art of making jewelry. In truth the answer is inseparable from from a childhood event that changed me inexplicably and awakened that sacred place within me from which I create.

As a child I underwent multiple surgeries. Though my Dr. was a very kind and caring man, I associated any man dressed in scrubs and a white coat with pain, and I feared them. The hospital where I had the surgeries was a teaching hospital. As a result, I was often wheeled down to the lecture hall to teach doctors about my rare case. Although I was only 3 years old, I remember it like it was yesterday. I was on a gurney with my legs in casts. The elevator door opened and I was being pushed into the room. A wooden desk was on my right with a blackboard behind it. I was front and center in the lecture hall and I knew that if I looked to my left my greatest fear would be revealed. Slowly I shifted my eyes to look, careful not to move my head lest it would bring more attention to me. Perhaps there were only a few but to my young mind it looked like a sea of scrubs and white coats. Fear gripped me with it's talons and my heart pounded so hard it felt like I would explode. I couldn't breath. I couldn't move.

All of a sudden I was in in a different space. Somehow I  had entered a state of Being that was filled with incredible love, beautiful peace and undescribable stillness. I knew without question that what I really  was could never be harmed or hurt in anyway and that I was always safe. I was in a state of serenity.

This forever changed my view and perception of life, and propelled me down a road seeking to replicate that experience. My search led me to many houses of worship and many books on spiritual teachings. No answer satisfied my search, and no teaching gave me even a glimmer of that feeling.

I found solace in the forest exploring it's beauty. From the minutia of the forest floor to the towering magnificence of trees. Vines fascinated me as they grew, twirling in their dance to find a place to entwine themselves. Flowers with their undulating forms and scents were intoxicating. To me nature was peaceful, wonderous and perfect.

It was in high school that I would finally stumble upon what would begin to recreate that incredible sense of peace and serenity. As it turned out basket weaving was full and a class in jewelry and silversmithing was offered to me.

It was there that I felt I could breathe again and found incredible joy creating with metal and stones; what inspiration those stones revealed to me. The sensations from that incredible experience began to reverberate through me again!

I went on to earn my BFA in Jewelry and Silversmithing from the Maine College of Art and shortly after life led me to marriage and children. My creative outlet found it's release in teaching my sons about the world of art as well as in cooking and making our home a sanctuary. As my sons grew I was able to spend more time in my studio, time flew by! Though I had hoped at this point to be in my studio full time, I am once again honored to care for others.  I was given a rescued macaw and shortly afterwards my mother was diagnosed with Parkinson's. Both required my care and love and my macaw still does. For many years I lovingly cared for my aging mother who has now passed and I am left adrift, navigating the sea of life and trying to discover who I am now. Through the many ages and stages of our lives we are required to redefine ourselves. For me little girl, young woman, wife, mother, caregiver....through it all I have been blessed with a constant in my life, metalsmithing.

Each moment I spend in my studio is precious. I am transformed by creating and finding inspiration from the beauty of nature and Her stones, plants and tiny, delicate creatures. I translate the splendor I find there into jewelry and special pieces for the table to honor the sanctuary of home.

My sincerest wish is that when someone uses or wears one of the pieces that I create they connect within themselves to a wondrous and supreme joy that I was graced with those many years ago.