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SD: When did you start designing jewelry?

 

I had combined beads with my loom weaving in the 1980's.  Don and I both realized that we wanted to work with metals in the 1990's.  We bought a torch and a pile of equipment, but it wasn't until years later that we found a jeweler to study with.  He was quite a taskmaster.  I learned to solder gold by repairing a small chain he had broken into 1 inch segments.

 

When I saw the flexibility in designs that can be created with wire, I knew it would create the designs in my head and in my sketchbooks.

 

SD: What inspires your jewelry designs?

 

I learned to knit at 5 years old and have knitted nearly every day since.  For a number of years I was a weaver and I still spin my own yarn.  Wire, to me, is just another form of yarn.  Much of what can be done with yarn and thread can be done with wire, but it is more beautiful and long-lasting. 

Don and I lived aboard our boat for 12 years and knots are a way of life for boaters.  His work with weaving and knots links with his natural drive for precision (he is an engineer) and work toward his wonderful knotted and woven pieces.  What he does, I could never manage.

We both do very smooth, simple and sleek pieces under out Simplexities line and hand anodized niobium and titanium pieces in our Spectrum Jewelry line.

SD: What is your background?

 

Don and I are both from Texas, but I have moved nearly 60 times in my short 60 years.  I have lived in a motorhome, 8000 sq. ft. house and a boat.  The only constants in my life have been my family, working with my hands, reading and the fact that I am a transient.  We have bought a place in Mississippi and hope to retire there and grow vegetables in the dirt between shows and teaching. 

 

SD: What are your other interests and hobbies?

 

Gardening in containers knitting, boating and kitties.

 

SD: Were you creative as a child?

 

I started knitting at 5 and have knitted nearly every day since.  I wrote my first book at age 10.  The title was "Our Rocks and Minerals".  Of course only one copy has ever been printed, but it was the beginnings of a life-long passion for beautiful things that shine.  From then on, I wrote every school paper on jewelry and drew fanciful jewelry designs on every flat surface. including my paper dolls..    I always wanted to see something I had made at the end of the day. 

 

I have always been "Thinking outside the box".  What box?

 

SD: Why have you chosen jewelry design as one means to express your creativity?

 

Would it sound too shallow to say I love shiny things?  I just love silver and beautiful stones.  Its such a tactile festival to touch the wire and shape it with your fingers and to make settings for stones.  With 55 years working in fibers, it is only a natural extension to shape the wire to suit my fantasies.

Question: How do you design your jewelry?

I do a lot of drawing then make piece in copper or floral wire to get the proportions and intricacies of how it will work mechanically.  I have a bag of copper pieces that just look like junk.  From there, depending on the piece, I will make it in silver or other metals.  On the woven pendants, I just do a little bit of drawing and then start weaving.  I design them as I work, so actually have little idea of what the finished piece will be when I start.

SD: What is your favorite jewelry material to work with and why? Do you have a favorite gemstone or precious metal?

 

I prefer working with .999 fine silver.  It doesn't work harden easily and conforms to the designs very smoothly.  We have really enjoyed niobium because of the finish and the colors that develop when we anodize it. 

 

A favorite stone?  That is almost like asking which child is my favorite.  I love lapis, malachite and rhodochrosite.  Sometimes black onyx can be just right counterpoint for a weaving.

 

SD: Describe for us one of your favorite pieces of jewelry.

 

Of course this changes on nearly a daily basis, but I have two that I really love.  Don made a spinner ring with the symbol for "I love you" in rivets in the spinner and I have a woven pendant with coral, onyx and a silver-gray pearl and a triangular lapis set in gold filled wire. 

 

SD: Do you offer custom-made jewelry?

 

Unlike most jewelry artisans, I rarely do custom work.  We did custom boat canvas for a while.  Fitting the boat and the vision the owner had, was both a time consuming and frustrating process.  I make what I love then find the person who loves it as much as I do..

 

Don does make custom bracelets because wrist sizes are quite varied and unpredictable. 

 

SD: Upon placing an order, how long before delivery?

 

Every piece is ready to sell at the time the photographs go on the site, so the pieces are shipped either the day the order is received or the day after.

 

What’s next for you?

 

Right now I am developing teaching modules for some classes we want to teach.  I am also finishing up the second edition of my eBook, "Website ShowCase: Artisan's Guide to Website Development and Marketing".  I am also developing a loom for the wire.  We plan to do more shows and more traveling for teaching once Don retires.

What would you like to learn?

I want to get much much better as a silversmith.  I really enjoy soldering and piercing and would like to combine this with the wire.  I have so much to learn.  Don is learning to flush set tiny faceted stones, which will add that tiny spot of sparkle in the unexpected places.  When he is fully retired in about 10 months, I think we can expect some very exciting new designs from him.

What jewelers do you look up to?

Hanne Behrens, Loren Damewood, Dory Brown, Mary Lee Hu, Linda Chandler, Stuart Golder

What is your favorite part of making jewelry?

I love the materials, but probably the best part is the tactile experience of weaving and coiling the wire and the mystery of what the piece is going to be in the end.

 

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