I have been creating art since I was a small child, and have been exhibiting & selling in
numerous venues since 1992.
As a child, art was a medium of expression for me.
Through exploration, I came to play with what was available in my environment—
fabrics, woods, pencil, paper, nature. In school, I branched into painting and sculpture.
By my early twenties, I had achieved a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and Fine
Arts and graduate work in Art Therapy.
My explorations continued, and developed into a variety of media including welding,
photography, stained glass, bookwriting & publishing, even soapmaking. Today, I am
both a silversmith and a jewelry designer. I create unique & one-of-a-kind pieces of
wearable art using traditional silversmithing techniques, beading, wire wrapping, and
silk or fibre knoKing, woven with semi-precious stones, freshwater pearls, Venetian glass
and sparkling swarovski crystal.
In my studio, you will also find my paintings, photography, stained glass, prints, soaps
& body products, and a large selection of precious and semi-precious stones, which I
incorporate into my pieces for their renowned healing properties. The stones, in fact, are
the reason I became a jeweler. I have been working with them for healing for over 20 years
and wanted to be able to forge unique healing pieces for my clients.
Most of my hand-forged pieces are sterling silver, but I also work in gold, copper, and
brass. I offer custom work for those looking for something in particular, and all of my
creations are made in my Meaford studio.
I work alone in my in-home studio in Meaford for every product that I create. Most of my
techniques are traditional, meaning that they are 100+ years old or more.
In my metalworking studio, my scrap metals are melted down & re-used, my stones are
from ethical sources & my pickles are non-toxic. I do not use molds, pre-production or
reproduction techniques, so each piece is truly hand-built & one-of-a-kind.
My stained glass is lead-free and I draw all of my designs - they are all originals.
My all-natural soaps & body products are chemical-free & preservative free. Each bar of
soap is made from scratch & cut by hand in small batches, using ethically-sourced &
environmentally sustainable ingredients. These bars are made using the cold-process
method similar to the way the pioneers would have made them, only with vegan, healthy
ingredients - it takes almost one month for each batch of soap to cure.
In my framing studio, I scan, print & frame my own archival prints, photographs and
cards using refurbished ink & recycled papers. Most of my photographs are taken with a
35mm Canon camera. No re-touching is ever done - what you see is what I saw.
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