About the artist...
My creativity has always been a driving passion in my life. At an early age, I was fascinated not only by ordinary art projects like painting, coloring books and play dough, but creating comic strips, new clothing designs, as well as building unique houses for all my dolls. Re-designing plastic flower arrangements at the church where my father was Pastor and adding that special fringe or new coat of paint to ordinary things around our house was also a regular activity (to the chagrin of my parents.) My passion also overlapped into various other adventures in the kitchen. I would envision a great tasting dish and begin adding a 'dash' here and a 'pinch' there without any concept of cooking basics. Inevitably though, the food would be a crowd pleaser which also blessed me with the love of my life, my husband Hugh.
Overall, I believe that God has blessed me with eyes to see beyond the outward appearance of an item and envision the treasure that lies beneath!
Nature also plays a major part in my inspiration and passion. Growing up, our family spent numerous vacations camping all over the Eastern seaboard. During those trips I was able to experience not only several historical and picturesque places, but also the simple beauty in subtle changes in a spring sky compared to that of a morning sky just before the first frost of fall. These excursions also exposed me to Nature's infinite color palette found in all her creatures. I can remember wading through cold mountain streams and catching salamanders of every color, shape and size. I would then gently pluck them from my pants' pockets to show my mother, who always admired my colorful little discoveries. Butterflies and autumn leaves were also among my many treasured finds.
These have all contributed to my love of jewelry making; I love finding an inspiration piece and designing the necklace from that item. My journey takes me to numerous bead shops, trade shows and even thrift stores in search of the perfect bead or stone. Once I find them, the true adventure begins with creating that one of kind item. Each necklace tells me a story; that is why I share a brief narrative of the inspiration with each item's description. This also allows me to nurture my passion further with my new love of writing.
It is my hope, that you will share my passion and adventure as you wear my designs and remember to be inspired every day!
