My grandfather was from northern England. His grandfather, was a cabinetmaker who taught him a method for simulating wood and stone, called "faux finish." Faux is French for false or fake, and my grandfather could make particleboard look exactly like fine oak or granite. During the war, he was sent to India, where he discovered sunshine. When he returned to his rainy home, he decided to follow a fellow neighbor who had moved to California, who could help him get a green card. 

My grandfather eventually moved all his family into a home he built by hand –with the help of his two sons– on Louisiana Avenue, in West L.A. He established his faux finishing business –the first in America, he was proud to say– and was soon making hotel lobbies look like Carrara marble temples; Movie stars –like Elizabeth Taylor– hired him to give their bathrooms and kitchens exotic wood finishes; and for years, he taught many lucky students his technique. He insisted my mother learn a trade rather than go to university, because "with a trade, you can work during a war.” And so she did, and when I grew up, so did I.

The Moon, Star, and Sun rings are now in my online shop. 

I’ve never been good at making something out of nothing. I need to start off with a tangible element to then imagine what comes next. I am intuitive in the way I create. This is why I have never been comfortable with painting: I am paralyzed by a blank canvas. In my kitchen, I am great at improvising a meal. I see what ingredients we have, and then my imagination takes hold. I don’t like to follow a recipe. It feels limiting, and because there is no room to express myself, the outcome tends to be dull and tasteless. Even when I bake, I like to imagine what flavors will do together, and what textures will work best. 

I have the same way of working when I make jewelry. I always begin with a stone, wire or sheet metal of a certain caliber, and wonder what I can do with it. Wire in particular helps me think. It’s easy to bend, and I can quickly make simple shapes that I then move around and combine with others. Does the result feel balanced, harmonious, dynamic or static? Is it interesting? My latest earrings series embodies this approach.

The Wire Drawing earrings are for sale in my shop.

I've been taking time off to focus and re-connect with myself. Lately, I can only be surrounded with people for so long before I begin to feel diluted. When that happens, I draw, I write, I inch my way back to my workbench, and I slowly find my own voice. 

As I cleaned out my closets to order my space and mind, I found a series of prints that I made when I was in college. I decided to use them as backdrops for my most recent earrings. The result is a collage of two worlds: the aspiring artist I was back in 2003, and the full time jeweler I am now; the hard forged metal, against the soft warm paper; my love for the nuances of graphic art, and my physical need to build sculptural forms. It feels good to be integrated. 

Dandelion Seed earrings.

Klee earrings.

Unstoppable Arrow earrings.

Tiered earrings.

Doubly Fun earrings.

Celebration earrings.

For sale in my shop.