Why jewelry?
I have been collecting stones as far back as I can remember. Coming home from a day out in the sun with a pocket full of rocks was pretty much my entire childhood. My obsession and passion for collecting gemstones and minerals has always run deep. Fast forward to early 2018 I was working at a very busy Santa Fe restaurant and I was completely burnt out on the service industry. My thirtieth birthday was approaching and my partner, Brendan asked me "what do you want to do with your life? You have all these rocks what can you do with them?" My immediate answer was Jewelry! I have been chasing that dream ever since! I have never been more passionate about anything in my life! I want to learn and master every aspect of this trade! Since day one learning this craft has felt like coming home to myself. It is as if my hands and my mind have always known this ancient art form. My designs are inspired by and awakened by the gemstones and minerals that I collect. They are my muses and I would be completely lost and uninspired without them! Jewelry is just the transportation method for the gemstone and I intend to become a master of creating wearable art! Jewelry that allows you to carry around your favorite rock!
What books/authors and/or music is inspiring you right now?
If I am honest I do not spend a lot of time reading. I am a full-time goldsmith for another jeweler in town, I have what feels like a mile long custom jewelry request list, and three nights a week I am in my garage lifting weights. I do however listen to a lot of music! I love punk, prog rock, indie rock, and just about everything in between. I have recently rediscovered my love for Black Metal! Bands like Lorna Shore, Dimmu Borgir, Wintersun, and Opeth just to name a few, get blasted from the small studio room within my home where I create Silicate & Silver Jewelry. The blending of heavy metal instrumentals with classical, operatic and choral chants literally give me the chills! It's brutal and beautiful all at once! The humans that create this music are true masters of their craft and they inspire me to become a master of mine!
What is a challenge you experienced that ended up being pivotal in your growth as an artist?
In 2018 I was the apprentice to a local jeweler here in town. I was learning a lot and so excited to have finally made the jump into the jewelry industry! About one year into that apprenticeship covid shut the world down. I was laid off and left with the uncertainty of when or if I would be welcomed back into the shop. It was then that I decided I could not live without metalsmithing in my life. I dipped into my savings account and set myself up with as many starter tools and as much Silver as I could afford and begin practicing fabricating jewelry from home. Covid changed everything. As I tried to see the silver lining in it all I found myself creating my own small business and really giving my all to a new art form. Covid and the isolation that came with it gave me the time to trial and error my way into finding my voice as a metalsmith.
If you could be anywhere in time, past or future, when and where wouldn't be? Why?
This is a tough question lol. I don't have a specific time that comes to mind. I feel like right now is a good time and also a challenging time to be a woman and a human in general. I try my best to live in the present. As i let my mind drift around with rhis question one random time does come to mind. The height of the California gold rush in the 1860's. I can imagine it would have been thrilling to head west with the dream of making it big while panning for gold! Finding literal nuggets of treasure in a river. Hoping to expand and change the destiny of your entire family. How exciting would that be!