"Rebirth"

This necklace is the fifth of five necklaces that was created for my BFA Thesis Exhibition. It is made up of scriptures and words that represent two major events which altered the path of my life. The life-altering events, a new relationship and the discovery of a new religion, brought hope and light to a life of darkness and despair. This necklace is a constant reminder that no matter what I go through in this life I will not go it alone.

"Pardonné"

This necklace is the fourth of five necklaces created for my BFA Thesis Exhibition. Just as the "Rapport Familiaux" necklace it too was created with old records and adapters that are tied to memories of sister. The necklace is closed at the back with magnets, indicating a temporary closure. Like the closure, forgiveness can be temporary, being pulled apart with the slightest tug, such as an argument. The perfection of this necklace represents the hope I have for complete healing and forgiveness, whether in this life or in the next.

"coffre-fort et sû"

This is the second of five necklaces created for my BFA Thesis Exhibition. It is made up of vintage clothespins that once belonged to my grandmother, old sheets with photo's of her transferred onto them, white cotton thread and white ribbon. This necklace represents memories I have of my grandmother hanging her sheets on the clothesline to dry. This necklace serves as a comforting reminder of the safety, love and warmth I felt when I was with her.

"Breathe"

This necklace is the first of five necklaces going into my BFA Thesis Exhibition. It was created a few semesters ago for a multiples project in Metals. This necklace made up of empty medicine vials, medical tubing, sterling silver jump rings, and blue beads. The vials and tubing once contained and administered vital asthma medication that saved my daughter's life. The overwhelming size of this necklace reflects the burden of living with chronic asthma and caring for a family member with chronic asthma.

"Rapports Familiaux"

This neckpiece is the third of five neckpieces created for my BFA Thesis Exhbition. It addresses familial relationships and how sometimes those relationships are so damaged they cannot be repaired. The necklace was created with old records and forty-five adapters; these objects are tied to memories of my oldest sister and her relationship with family members.

Haystack Mountain School of Crafts

This was what I worked on for two straight weeks while at Haystack in the summer of 2009. I would wake at 5:30 am shower, get dressed, head to the metal studio and work all day and into the night taking breaks for meals and occasionally a stroll to the water for some relatxation. I often worked until 11:00 and 12:00 at night and headed back to my room to write in my jounal. Some nights we had demonstrations from other artists and mediums, auctions, etc. Occasionally I would take an afternoon off to head to town and check out the gallery's and do some shopping and some afternoons I would go for a run. The best part of the trip were my instructors, Fred Fenster and Hiroko Yamada. They were fabulous and fun and very knowledgeable in Pewter. The theme for the class was "Tableware". Our instruction included, raising to make cups, score and fold, a collapsing technique and some anticlastic raising. I decided to make a teapot, it was something I had wanted to make since my start in art metals. Hiroko made sure I was challenged and had me add some design elements that really made the teapot more interesting to look at. I went with the asian inspired roller print on the four sides. I was very interested in curved lines, but had no experience in the sinking or raising at that point, so I settled on making a four sided teapot. I used the score and fold technique on the lid, which used to have a pewter ball on top (this was lost while being displayed at the Meridian Library) to help with the removal of the lid. The teapot is usable, and in fact the holes where the water drains through on the inside were drilled to spell out Hiroko and Fred in Japanese, so if someone were to take this apart one day they would find those names. I learned lot while I was at Haystack and being on an island with many artists for two full weeks was inspiring.