My Story

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You could say creativity runs in my family.  My mom and all of my sisters and brothers are writers and artists. I got the drawing gene — it was just something I could do from the time I could hold a pencil. I took a lot of art in school and college and got a job doing illustration and graphic design for a small newspaper. When computers started taking over I learned how to do everything that way.  I spent most of my career as a creative director at a high-tech firm. But even though I had a creative position, I had, without realizing it, actually drifted quite far from what I would have called my true creative self. Yes, I was creating things but it was for somebody else. I was okay with it for a long time because I loved my job. But at some point, that niggling voice that never fails to remind us what we should be doing got loud enough to finally grab my attention.

So, still at my job, but determined to get art back into my life, I took up beaded jewelry-making when that became a thing. I loved it. It was colorful and three-dimensional. I could create a piece of art and wear it! I was completely hooked. I started learning everything I could about many different aspects of jewelry-making and found myself drawn irresistibly to metalsmithing. I devoured books, took classes, and worked at it with devotion. I bought a million tools. Somewhere along the way, I left the company and sploshed my way toward a creative life...

Now I'm creating in my own studio every day, something for which I am extremely grateful. My intention is to create things that in their own small way add goodness to the world.  I like to think that people connect with my pieces on a deeper level, because I make each piece with meaning and love. 

My studio is in rural Minnesota, near the glorious St. Croix River. Wandering the forests and meadows near my home is what makes me the happiest and where I get my inspiration. I am continually in wonder at the beauty of this planet.  My comrades are two goofy Rhodesian ridgebacks, and when I'm not out hiking with them, or working in my studio, I can be found hanging out with my family, snowshoeing or kayaking.