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About the Artist It has only been later in life that I’ve decided to really be an
artist. Since early childhood, I’ve made pretty things with my
hands—crocheting, sewing, embroidering. But I never thought of that
as talent or considered that what I created was art. Looking back, I can see that
many experiences led me to my current passion for beads and making
beaded jewelry. As I think about the path I followed, color was
always very important, artist friends inspired me, and my work as a
family therapist helped me understand how intricate beauty could be
found in the way things fit together. Most of my adult life I worked as a family therapist. Creating meaningful jewelry is my way of paying back the world for the privilege of having had so many intimate glimpses into human nature. That people trusted me with their innermost experiences, joys, and fears has enriched my life and my understanding of human dynamics immeasurably. Now that I am retired from that occupation, I’m delighted to be able to follow a new passion—a passion for beads! All kinds of beads—glass, stone, silver, bright, muted, large, small, round, shaped, smooth, carved—intrigue me. Each one seems more interesting than the last. For my very first necklace, I gathered old jewelry from many of my friends and family. Cutting the strands, I gathered the beads in one big bowl and made one of the most powerful necklaces I’ve ever made. Early on, I realized that what made the necklace so powerful was all the energy from so many loved ones that was gathered in that one piece of jewelry. And so, the real focus of my designs from the beginning was to make beautiful art that held a lot of meaning for the wearer. At first, I couldn’t tell plastic from glass or glass from stone. It didn’t matter. I just used my intuition to create designs. Now I know the difference and that too has its joys. Since my first necklace, I’ve been making jewelry almost nonstop. First, I made gifts for friends, then I began to sell a few, and finally I knew I wanted to find just the right niche so that I could make meaningful jewelry that was also fun to wear and would bring the wearer many compliments. Initially, I created each of my major designs in response to a specific experience. The first design I began making frequently was called “World Peace”. It was my response to the September 11th bombing of the World Trade Center. I was overwhelmed by the degree of anger and the ferocity of the cries for vengeance we all heard. I knew that would never be the path to real peace. I wanted to create a bracelet that would remind its wearer that the path to peace comes through understanding our commonalities at the same time that we honor our differences. As you look at the specific jewelry on this website, you can read descriptions of how the other designs came into being. |
