About

BIO

I earned my BFA in Metalsmithing & Jewelry from Maine College of Art & Design in 2014. For five years I served as a core member of The Metals Collective: A Portland based group of makers whose mission is to promote the craft of metalsmithing & jewelry through collaboration and public engagement. In 2017 I was awarded the Belvedere Fund, an alumni professional development grant, which I used to purchase a torch and ventilation system for my home studio. In 2020 I completed the Maine Craft Apprentice Program under the guidance of my mentor, j.e. paterak. In 2021 I completed the Going with Grace End of Life Training Program, to become a death doula & end of life planner.

artist statement

Inspired and informed by sentimental jewelry throughout history, I offer my contemporary take. I utilize a dark, limited color palette of stones and oxidized silver to create modern mourning jewelry. Moving away from the motifs common in memento mori (“remember death”) jewelry, my most recent body of work employs the letter X as a non-traditional symbol of death. Derived from the 1932 film Scarface, where a cinematic X motif is used as a harbinger of death, appearing as each character meets their death. The shape provides a departure point to design from, endlessly multiplying and manipulating it. The finished work abstracts the dark context behind it, often utilizing asymmetry and movement to create elegant jewelry that is playful and dynamic.