I come from a household of people that if you wanted something you had to make it yourself.  My mother was a potter. Our home was filled with drying pots and glaze mixes. My father was an industrial arts teacher.  If you wanted it he could build it (but only during summer vacation. But, my grandfather was a jeweler and a carpenter, that man could make anything work.  He built my mothers first kick wheel out of an old Volkswagen axel and a bicycle tire.

My educational background is in Dental Hygiene.  So I naturally have the fine motor skills, and believe me there is plenty of time to think about things when you are cleaning someone’s teeth.  Many of the materials and techniques learned in hygiene school have been useful in my “glass life”.

I love color and texture…I tell my students, because of my work I don’t want to bother with the attention to detail with the jewelry.  They think I’m crazy, (they might be right)!  I’ve always done what has to be done.  I always make my jewelry as strong as possible.  Which means wire wrapping coils and connections.

My love of glass came at an early age.  I remember a trip across the country one summer when I was five.  My father was taking a class at the University of Maryland.  I vividly remember going to Williamsburg and Jamestown and watching the glass blowers.  As a five year old I was very impressed that you could take “stuff” from the ground and make such useful things.