Bio
I grew up in a small town in Wisconsin appreciating the quiet beauty that is found in a Midwestern landscape; the solitude of an abandoned barn or the subtle color changes and texture of a meadow. Although I first worked with metal during high school art classes, it was while I was in the fine arts program at the University of Wisconsin - Madison that I fell in love with the medium. I found that metalworking, with its precision and technical traditions, satisfied both the analytical and creative sides of my personality. At Madison, I learned to appreciate fine craftsmanship as well as the processes and tools of the field.

After I received my Bachelor’s degree in 1992, I was fortunate to expand my worldview by traveling and living abroad. Most profoundly influential was my experience residing in Japan from 1993-95, where I became particularly intrigued by the blurring of interior and exterior space and the structural considerations in traditional Japanese architecture. The vessels that I made during my graduate studies at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale from 1996-99 have open spaces on their hollow forms that act as windows, allowing the interior to be part of the initial exterior view.

After earning my Master of Fine Arts degree in 1999, I accepted a teaching position at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania where I am a Professor of Metals/Jewelry. While travels to study the architecture in such places as India and Turkey continue to define the forms in my work, starting a family in 2008 was instrumental to generating change in my most recent pieces. Moving away from the complexity and mechanisms that dominated earlier work, I am now compelled to celebrate quieter moments and small details that we too often overlook. The natural objects that are secured within my vessels and jewelry represent the memories that we hold on to while the intimate scale of the work invites the viewer to stop and draw near.