I look towards my history and environment for contexts and concepts in making my work. My parents' home is in the middle of a tree farm. I am sixth in a family of two older sisters, three older brothers, and four younger brothers. My mother taught me to appreciate the elegance and drape of finely made fabrics and her mother taught me sewing from three years of age. My father, a test pilot, flew us through the clouds and the land would flow below disclosing the earth's patterns and formations.

The source of my artistic expression comes from an amalgamation of these childhood influences and memories. Of the many skills I learned under my parents' tutelage, my favorite was rendering the household refuse to cinders. The sheer joy of working with fire has never left me. Utilizing flame in a constructive manner is the foundation of all my work.

Since 1976 I have been exploring, developing and teaching the process of making textures through heat. Patterns are created by fusing thin layers of silver, high karat gold, and platinum together in sheets to form fabrics of metal. This material is then made into hollowware, vessels and jewelry.

In recent years my interests have expanded to include hollow-formed vessels made from copper and silver. I am very interested in creating larger pieces so people are better able to see the textures that I've been exploring through the use of different tools.

Many of my pieces are used to mark rights of passage i.e., marriage, birth-death, graduation and personal transitions. The piece of jewelry or vessel becomes part of the ritual in one's life. This level of intimacy is the ultimate goal of my work.

• Penland School of Art, Heikke Seppa, 1990, 1995, Elliot Peugeot 1996, Lisa Gralnick 1996
• Wildacres, FGA-PSG Workshops, Granulation - Jean Stark, 1994,
  Die Forming - Robert Pfuelb, 1995
• University of Delaware, Dean Block Scholar - Master of Fine Arts in Sculpture, 1993
• Philadelphia Academy of the Fine Arts, Drawing, 1978-1979
• Moore College of Art, BFA in Jewelry and Metalsmithing, 1976
  
  

Teaching Experience:
COURSES / LECTURES / WORKSHOPS

• COMA Denver, CO, 1999
• Mendocino Art Center, 1998
• Touchstone, 1997 -2000
• 92nd Street Y, Artist-in-Residence, 1996
• Penland, Movement, Summer Session, 1995
• Peters Valley, Avant-Garde Textures & Forming, Layton, NJ, 1995 -1998
• MASCA, Advanced Forming & Framing of Textures, Los Angeles, CA, 1994 -1995
• Florida Society of Goldsmiths, Basic Textures & Boxes, Winter Park, FL, 1995
• The Spokane Art School, Advanced Surface Techniques for Jewelers, Spokane, WA, 1994
• Delaware Women's Conference, Personal Portrait of Work, Newark, DE, 1993- 1994
• Moore College of Art and Design, Basic Advanced Metal Techniques,
  Philadelphia, PA, 1989 - 1991
• University Museum, University of Pennsylvania, Community Workshops, 1989- 1993

• The Rolex Award for Innovation and Excellence in Metal - The Philadelphia Craft Show 1997
• National Endowment of the Arts: Honorable Mention 1996
• Independent Artist Fellowship, State of Delaware, 1995 - 1996
• Award of Distinction, Jacksonville, FL 1996
• Winter Park Craft Show, Award of Merit, 1995
• Southwest Arts-Craft Show, First Prize "Outstanding Achievement in Design", Albuquerque, NM, 1993
• Wayne Jewelers Award, "Reliquaries", Wayne Arts Center, Wayne, PA, 1993
• First Prize, Jewelry & Silversmithing, SUMMERFAIR Festival, Cincinnati, OH, 1992
• Finalist, DeBeers International Diamond Competition, 1990 - 1991
• Industry Award, American Jewelry Manufacturers, "Top Designers of the Nineties", 1990
• Artist-in-Residence, Pennsylvania Council of the Arts, 1987-1989
• Fourth Prize for Jewelry Design, 15th Japanese International Pearl Competition, 1987
• Pearl Exporters Award for Jewelry Design, 14th Japanese International Pearl Competition, 1986

• Jewelers Circular Keystone, "Colored Stones Showcase," 1995
• Ornament Magazine: "Divine Providence" by Cathleen McCarthy, Summer, 1993
• Contemporary American Jewelry Design: Cover, Chapter by Ettagale Blauer, Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1991
• American Jewelry Manufacturer: "Top Designers of the Nineties," 1990
• The Goldsmith, "Design Showcase, Architectural Styling is Designer Ryan's Mark," 1998
• Lapidary Journal, "From the Sublime to the Reticulated", 1989
• The National Jeweler, "JA's New Designers", 1988
• Jewelers Circular Keystone, "Jewelry Fashion", 1988
• Savvy, "All That Glitters", 1988