For me making art is as essential as breathing.  I feel invigorated when I come home from the studio plastered in metal dust and paint, or with my arms coated with clay.  All of this transpires while engaging in metalsmithing, ceramics, and painting.

Metalsmithing employs two kinds of thought, intellectual and creative.  I use critical thinking to determine a piece’s dimensions or measure chemical ratios to make solutions to use with metal.  It is also exhilarating to imagine and then create my design, watching it unfold as I add more elements, color, or found objects.  These features are made with cabochons, as well as my previously designed enamel work.

While working with clay, I rely on my primitive process.  I make very colorful, distinctive masks.  My masks evoke a sense of playfulness with their vibrant colors and expressive features.

Painting, though, was my first medium.  Growing up, on weekends, I was drenched head to toe in paint. Today, mostly I paint pictures of faces or masks.  Not unlike my ceramic piece