As a rockhound from an early age it was natural to use rocks and minerals as subjects for science projects in middle school and high school. A science fair project involving changing crystal shapes of nickel sulphate by changing the environments earned international science fair awards in my junior and senior years of high school. After high school spelunking in caverns in Ohio became a favorite pastime. This hobby continued through years in the military with caves in Korea often being a source of recreation and relaxation until an explosion in Korea resulted in a medical discharge. I was having a hard time adjusting to not being able to do things I loved to do – such as spelunking – when a friend invited me to a gem and mineral show in Ohio. There I met Ralph Geilds a silversmith who convinced me that he could teach me to cut stones and set them in silver. From him I learned the intricate process of constructing channel set inlay pendants. A couple who taught at William Holland Lapidary School of Art lead me into different styles of silversmithing; Mac Thornton taught me Southwest Style jewelry and his wife, Dawn, taught me wirewrapping. With their guidance stonecutting and silversmithing became the central point of my life after I was disabled.

While in the military I earned my BS in Science and then used the GI Bill to earn a Master in  Social Work which enabled me to become a drug and alcohol counselor for the chronically and mentally ill. Silversmithing and lapidary (stonecutting) were great stress relievers; when conditions at work were out of my control I could cut and polish a stone or take a piece of silver and coax it into a piece of beauty based on my vision.

 

Between 1991 and 2007 I won one first place and two second place prizes in the Professional Level Jewelry competition at the Indiana State Fair. The trend continued after moving to North Carolina with wins at county fairs and the North Carolina State Fair. Winning some prizes encouraged me to begin to share my love of lapidary and silversmithing with others in a more tangible way. I began by team-teaching with Mac Thornton at William Holland; a few years later I added courses at Fayetteville Technical Community College.