Modern Heirloom® Fine Jewelry

  Drawing became a passion of mine at age nine. It was my "natural talent"which required little thought and sketching came easily. At 17,  I packed my bags and headed to Savannah College of Art and Design to become "an artist". It was after my first two foundation years that jewelry came into my world. I was hooked. I loved the balance between process , creativity, and invention. As an artist, I was always equally if not more fascinated by the process of creating as with the conceptual aspects. Jewelry Design and creation  fulfilled this fascination so completely.  The inspiration to design and time to make interweave themselves so seamlessly each day in the goldsmithing shop it allows for each wave of the creative process to have its moment. 20 years and a blink of the eye after my venturing into jewelry making , I am excited to be launching my latest series. "Sketched and Engraved" finds the perfect balance between illustration and metalworking.

A nother year ends and a new one begins . I t's time to reflect on the accomplishments of 2010 and look to the goals of 2011. I first began blogging with the goal to inspire and teach through which I would inevitably learn. The two go hand in hand after all and it was an honorable goal. Then the day to day demands of our custom jewelry shop take control of our time. This blog sits collecting dust as do many of the pieces we begin in the moments between deadlines and de sign challenges presented us throughout the year. So to begin this year, I am wiping off the dust and collecting the pieces. I am transforming this blog into a bird's eye view into the goldsmithing shop at our Gallery.... Si lver Bonsai Gallery . Rather than try to fit this blog into the spare moments of our daily shop demands, I will be highlighting them for you  project by project.  In turn I still plan to achieve my goal... to inspire an

Scrolls of imaginative and ornamental patterns can be found throughout the hand engraving world. As the process of cutting a scroll unfolds, it is as if you are watching leaves uncurl and vines intertwine. When I began engraving, I was introduced to the concepts behind designing a layout by a very talented engraver, Jason Marchiafava . Therefore it made perfect sense to introduce you all to him now. Thanks again, Jason for supplying this evenings imagery. Inspired by nature, the curling of an Oak leaf, and the blooming of a flower.... the key to a well en graved scroll begins with layout. As we draw and paint the scroll,we train our minds to the patterns of line and the cuts in the metal become second nature. Technique breaks the lusciousness of the scroll into a well defined series of repetitious cuts. I had the fortune of first observing these techniques through Jason's skillful hands. This is evident through the Scrolls pictured here inlaid with 24K Gold & featuring exhibi