I decided that I wanted to do some distinctive things with my beads, like add my own hand made chains. A chain making class was offered through the Woodstock Guild, in my hometown of Woodstock, NY and I quickly signed up. There I was inspired by Raychel Wengenroth, a silversmith who was teaching the chain making class. Today, I combine my love of color and the desire to be working with my hands by choosing to 'marry' metals in bold geometric designs. I use silver, brass, copper, nickel silver, Japanese alloys shibuichi and shakudo, and different colored golds. For example; the checkboard pattern. I cut strips of metal, like silver and nickel silver, to get the "white" and "black", then I solder the strips together. Once the strips are soldered, I then recut them so that I can alternate the colors, and resolder the new strips to create the checkerboard.  I find the marriage of metals to be an endlessly intriguing use of color and materials. I have to credit John Carnes, who also taught at the Woodstock Guild, for introducing me to this technique. Depending on the piece, I also utilize techniques such as etching, enamels, mokume gane, pierce work, and hollow work. I am an avid collector of all things colorful and beautiful, and I often cruise the local gem shows on the lookout for interesting stones. My studio is my refuge from the world of words that I’m engaged in on daily basis as a business instructor at the Culinary. As 2008 unfolds, I’ll continue my different experiments as I’m always looking for new and fun things to try. This way I never get bored.

I’ve shown my work at the Mountain Top Festival in Hunter, NY, the Berkshire Art Festival at Monument Mountain High School in Great Barrington, MA, Artrider shows: Crafts at Lyndhurst and Morristown, Crafts at Rhinebeck, the Woodstock – New Paltz Crafts Show, and the Garrison Art Center Summer Craft Show. For two years, 2005-2006, I was part of an artist’s cooperative gallery in Woodstock, NY, Forged and Fired.