My Story
My life’s journey has provided me with many opportunities and incredible experiences. Born and raised in Germany, I traveled to rural Virginia as a young adult to volunteer at a therapeutic farm community. I soon fell in love with an outdoorsy French man in the countryside and decided to stay. Since then, we have lived on our farm in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains, where we raised two lovely and creative daughters. For a number of years, we also lived on a sailboat, homeschooling our children, traversing the Atlantic, and visiting many countries in Europe and the Middle East.
I worked as a family counselor, and until recently, as a teaching assistant in a public school. To my own wonderment, I came to jewelry making late in life after our older daughter gifted me her jewelry work bench and tools.
To see her beautiful jewelry visit her website at de-vos.us
My Process
I am self-taught and continue to take classes to incorporate new techniques.
I often use the ancient craft of lost-wax casting to create my jewelry, with a special interest in Mitsuro Hikime, a centuries-old Japanese wax. Mitsuro Hikime translates to “honey wax drawing texture.” As the name suggests, the wax recipe uses natural beeswax, which I source from our small apiary. Working with this wax creates beautiful striations in the casted metal — reminiscent of leaves, waves, or woodgrain — to form fluid organic-looking jewelry. I might start with one idea in mind, but the wax, with its taffy-like consistency, takes on its own movement and shape. This element of surprise is very joyful.
I also love using this wax with my lace crochet pieces, where the design is more deliberate. Even so, following the creative thread leads me to unexpected places. My wax creations are then sent to a caster in New York’s diamond district and shipped back to me where I finish them in my little home studio/guest room.
Recently I started to experiment with copper sheets and pencils in some designs to add color to my jewelry. All these pieces are one of a kind. If you see a shape you like but wish it was in a different color let me know. Or maybe you have a different shape in mind. Just get in touch with me!
I hope you enjoy wearing or gifting my jewelry as much as I enjoy creating them.
