I learned the Navajo style of silversmithing from my Navajo aunt when I was 13. This is the style of designing around the stone. After many years of searching for the perfect media to express my “artistic style” I came back to the silver. There is nothing quite like when the heated silver is at the right temperature and time stops for me. I have many times had friends call me up when I was supposed to be somewhere because I had gotten an idea while in the shower and told my self “just 10 minutes”. ..to find 3-4 hours have gone by and the piece has progressed..

I have had few classes in silversmithing, but those that I have taken teach me tricks that I had not found in books, or by experimenting on my own.

 One might best describe my work as organic based. I also go the complete opposite by having extreme geometric pieces. The thing about my artwork is that no two pieces are the same.

 I do bead work for a couple of reasons. I love working with stones, and I am not always able to get the torch out. When I was selling my house in Houston to move back home to New Mexico, I had to put up all my silversmithing equipment due to people walking through the house, I didn’t want to leave tools and stones laying around. I started beading during that time to keep sane and have an outlet with stones and silver. The ability to take the colors and combination of shapes and create something that someone says “Where did you get that….?” is a success factor for me.  Beadwork is also a way to finish the silverwork.

 How do I do the things I do? I use a method called fabrication. In other words, I get a stone and put a bezel around it. A bezel holds the stone. Then, I normally have an idea of what the piece should be. I get a sheet of silver, solder the bezel on to the sheet, add additional pieces to create the decorations and embellishments, clean the extra silver up, file and polish it. Then once it is finished – and it normally is something that I had NO concept of when I started. This is due to it taking on a life and character of its own. Then I set the stone.

 Where do I get ideas for pieces I do? One morning I woke up and thought paper airplane…went and made a paper one, then created the same in silver. My lilies started from a gardening catalog. In New Mexico where I now live, we have quite a few lilies around the yard. I was looking at the catalog and looked and said – hmmm I could do that in silver. I then proceeded to create the 3 silver lilies in the gallery 05-2344. From there I was commissioned to create a smaller lily for someone as a necklace, and the series of lilies came to be. Stones will often tell me what the piece should be like.

 Can I duplicate earlier pieces or work I have already sold? It can never be identical. Unless there is a really good stone that would work, I would be very hesitant to try. I have done series of items – see the pendant Star 03-5540 in the gallery, but even then, each one was created individually and was each a bit different.

 I have had pieces shown and sold from the San Antonio Texas Art Museum Gift Shop after they saw 01-0537 the corn maiden.

 Why do I do so many necklaces? The reason for this is that with necklaces, almost any size person can wear it. You do not have to modify the piece to make it fit.

 Rings- Most of my rings are cast silver rings. I then set the stones. I don’t do rings a lot because once I finish a piece, I do not want to go back and change it.  ie… change the size, etc.

 I started doing chains in early 2002 and found that they are actually a great way to do meditation. The act of soldering 100-500 rings at a setting also helps teach great patience and perseverance. You will see much more chain work in the future from me. Chain work is similar to quilting. You get a perfectly good piece of wire, cut it into small pieces, and put it back together to make it special.