About the Artist

When you talk with artists you often find them deeply committed to the medium they work in. This is certainly true for me. As an art student at the University of New Mexico I took a jewelry making course; after polishing my first silver bracelet I fell in love with the material. Metal holds a fascination for me. It is hard, durable and almost impervious to the elements. Yet when you learn its secrets, it can be as pliable as butter and can be stretched, compressed, joined, cast and polished. Metalworking has played an integral role in human culture as weaponry, art, building material, transportation, jewelry and coinage.

I was fortunate to be born in Taos, New Mexico, an art colony since 1898. I grew up surrounded by art and artists; my father was an accomplished furniture maker and my mother an art enthusiast. I graduated from UNM with a BA in Fine Arts. After moving to Toledo, OH I enrolled in the Toledo Museum of Art’s School of Design. The metals program was a rigorous three-year study; Al Melis exposed us to wide variety of metal-working techniques, including raising, blacksmithing and tool-making.

Art is the skillful and imaginative creation of objects which capture and interpret the human experience. It transcends time and place. I hope that the objects I create are a window to our time, who we are as people and what are culture is like. I’ve spent years working in metal and never tire of its challenges. There is always something new to learn.