artist statement
I was born outside of New York City in 1947. From an early age I watched my mother "dress up" - that is what it was to me. She would dress up for work and also dress up when she and my father would go out. I watched her every move while dressing, including applying make-up and her beloved Arpege scent in the square bottle with a hat like Napoleon's.
Jewelry was only for grown-ups then, but I was intrigued especially by how pieces moved and were attached - colors and textures. Jewelry resembled the toys in my toy chest.
After studying art history at Queens College in NYC and working in advertising and publishing, I moved to New Mexico, taking a variety of jobs to get by. Not to long afterward I moved to Embudo and settled on the Rio Grande where Comanche Canada flows into the Rio. I resumed my interest in jewelry by taking classes and workshops all over the country. I soon participated in craft shows and placed my work in galleries, in addition to showing on the Dixon Studio tour for more than 40 years.
About 20 years ago I decided that I needed to work on a larger scale and enrolled in Santa Fe Community College where I began fabricating & welding steel sculpture. This study also supported my interest in making jewelry, sculptural in nature. In fact, sometimes using natural objects as a starting point for paring down a design into geometric shapes.
Today my tool box resembles my toy chest but, has grown to include all kinds of forming tools (hammers, forming blocks) for all sizes of metal working a myriad of setting tools for stones, a hydraulic press, kilns, and to many more to mention. To see it all, visit the 42 Annual Dixon Studio November 4th & 5th.