Caroline (my daughter) went to the Art Institute of Chicago, specifically because they had a sculpture program that featured a foundry. She wanted to work in metal on a large scale. She’s very cool that way. I saw the diversity in what she was creating, but thought the large scale didn’t appeal to me on many levels, one main one being I didn’t have access to a foundry. From there, I found the Metal Program at Penland, which allowed me to explore metal on a more realistic scale. I have always been interested in the adornment of the body, articulated through an infinite variety of media (if you know me, you know that I love tattoos, even though I don’t have any…). 

Since that fateful first class, I have returned to Penland countless times to develop and hone my craft. I have studied under experts and makers whom I admire and the instruction I've received has pushed me as an artist in ways I never could have imagined. My work is better for it, and my artistic career has fulfilled me in a way I didn’t know possible when I took that first jewelry making class.