My fondest childhood memories were summers spent on the waters of Virginia’s Chickahominy River, surrounded by the smell of cypress trees. As I grew older, I spent time on both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The sound of waves and the smell of the ocean has followed me through the years, and somewhere in my heart is a deep longing for the sea. The first time I created jewelry with metal, I was enthralled. Transforming metal with hammers and fire fascinated me, and I’ve never gotten over it. I find the process both meditative and very intimate. When I work in my studio, the entire world shrinks down to myself and the piece I’m working on, which is a rare experience in this busy world. I like to think that the pieces I create carry some of this serenity out into the world with them.