Once again I will have some soldering classes available at the Art and Soul Portland Retreat next year in March 2026. I have five class offerings, three soldered jewelry classes and two soldered art classes. My week there always starts off with Soldering 101 so that those that have never soldered before can “dip into” the art of soldering with all the basic tips and tricks to the art. Click on the class name below photo/image to lead you to the class descriptions and costs. SOLDERING 101 SOLDERED BOOK NECKLACE …
Fallbrook, California Classes
I will be heading south to Fallbrook, California in November 2025 to teach some soldering classes for Vintage Retail Therapy by Mara Lafay. They are fun classes. One day we will be soldering bottles and crystals together and the next day will be soldered crowns. The soldered crown class project can be a piece that is a reflection of you and your creativity. If you have personal photos or images you would like to use, they can be added inside the glass before being soldered. These are just a couple …
Upland, California Classes in September 2025
This coming September 19, 20, & 21, 2025, I will once again be teaching at the Frank Garcia Studio in Upland, CA. I have two classes offered. One is a soldered pumpkin with a diorama scene inside and the other is a Halloween themed soldered wall art project. The Halloween Dreams soldered pumpkin begins Friday, September 19th at 4pm – 7pm where we will prepare our pumpkins for creating our dioramas on Saturday, September 20th at 10am – 4pm. You will be able to create your pumpkin the way you …
My Studio Space
My studio has evolved over the past 10 years. Once an aqua color, then a small sunroom space, and now a two-room area. When we moved into our (new to us) log home 3 years ago, we built our master bedroom on the main floor, thus I was able to claim the original master bedroom on the second floor. This room also has a small sunroom off of the glass slider door that overlooks the whole valley. I am lucky to sit at a desk that offers beautiful views of …
Faux Tin Type Art
While antiquing I am always on the hunt for vintage tin type photos. These precious little tin photos have always inspired my jewelry and art pieces with the stories they tell. Finding these gems is beginning to be more of a process than before as there aren’t that many around. Using a technique I learned years ago and am now finally putting into practice, I am able to recreate the appearance of a tin type photo using photos from my vintage stash. Because these are created on tin, it is …
Mixed Metals
In my pieces I love to mix different metals. Copper, brass, and silver are among my favorites to work with. When I find inspiration from an object or from a photo, I make a mental note of it for using in a future piece of jewelry. Take for instance these cuffs. I purchased some blank brass cuffs in different widths a while back. I also purchased a lot of different size chains in different metals and they have been sitting around just waiting to be made into something. I knew …
Summer Collection
Every summer I scour the highways and side roads for wildflowers to use in the jewelry I make. Queen Anne’s Lace grows prolific here in my area, so it is not hard to find. Last year I picked a bounty of it and now I am in the process of creating some pieces with them. I love these wildflowers because of their natural color palette and how organic they look once soldered inside glass pendants. They are a favorite of many of my customers, me included. This new summer collection …
Some New Jewelry Pieces
My pieces are most often inspired by an element that I use in them. Take for instance these cuffs. I found the ornate bezel online and knew right away that I wanted to use it for this idea I had for the cuffs. I also had in my possession some vintage glass buttons, vintage script paper, gold mini glass beads and some blank cuffs just waiting to be used. It is amazing to me how all these individual parts can make such a beautiful piece of jewelry. All bound together …
Our Stories
What is it about old letters, vintage photos or old books that grabs my attention? Sometimes it is the beauty of the script alone that has my heart. Other times it is the beautiful sentiment behind the handwritten text. We live in a world now where practically everything is in an email or a text message. Gone are the days when we would sit down and actually hand write a letter and mail it off the “old fashioned” way. And can I talk about old photos? So many of them …