As such, jewelry probably started for me as a child when I would silently imitate my grandfather doing watch repair at his bench. In a way, making jewelry is a lot like playing Pick-up-Sticks except a 3000 degree torch is used. To fuse such metals as gold, copper and silver, which have very similar melting characteristics, magnification, dexterity and great concentration is necessary. Lingering to
o long with a torch is a recipe for melting disasters. My first jewelry class came in pre-Prop.13 Junior High under the tutelage of Mr. He stoked my interests in not just art, but specifically, jewelry work. My basic jewelry level honed by taking Arts and Crafts in High School, all four years, by another amazing instructor, Mr. No art course that I have taken since has had better facilities, equipment, or instruction than these early experiences. After receiving a degree in Ultimate Frisbee and Surfing from UC Santa Barbara, I started graduate school in Geology and Chemistry in Montana. A couple of years later I got a science teaching credential. The next big developments were that I was given my Grandfather’s jewelry bench and that I married artist/teacher Alanni. Soon I exhausted all of the scientific illustration courses offered at UC Santa Cruz and the jewelry classes at Cabrillo, so I headed south for studio jewelry courses in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. Everybody seems to be an artist in Santa Cruz, but few are making a living at it. Luckily for me I have had a wonderful career as a science teacher. This has afforded me the comforts of not being dictated by anyone but myself as to what I do, jewelry art wise, all while not living a life in poverty. A good time for me is working in my studio making pendants for my wife, my mother, or for myself. A few years back I participated in the Surfer Art Show at the Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History and I had some pieces at the now defunct Davenport Gallery. There are some galleries that I think would be perfect for my work, but sadly, I have not gotten around to it. Last year I did well at Open Studios. It is very rewarding to have people not just like my stuff, but like it so much that they actually buy it!
