The lack of ancestral record instilled in me this desire to hold on to memories, and to leave my children with permanent records or memories of our family. My desire to work with metals was inspired by the need to encapsulate a record of memories through a more permanent means. The durability of steel, I feel, can be used as a diary, in the form of an artistic and lasting object, rather than written words. The need to leave behind a legacy inspired me to explore the use of lockets and containers that have some resemblance to a reliquary. My intent was not one of religious purpose, but rather to create a locket or container that would reflect or contain symbols of where one's roots begin, the home.

Process and form have always been important to my work. I emphasize the soft qualities of clay while working with traditional forms that are altered for visual interest. Usability is very important, the forms have to function well according to their intended use. The relationship between form and manipulation relied on usability of the form. Functionality was paramount within this body of work. I consciously searched for balance between form and manipulation, form and glaze, form and function, and overall character. Though altered, the forms were traditional and dependent on function. Manipulations of the forms, surface treatment, and deep colorful glazes contributed to creating harmony between function and expression. Personal stylistic elements became refined through working on this project. The body of work that was made allocated personal expression and new variations on functional forms. This project provided an opportunity for exploration and evaluation of form and my working process.

The nature of clay's physical attributes and the application of these characteristics to an expression of gestural movement in utilitarian ceramics.

My approach to the art making process is a kind of poetic reverie on forms and spaces. Webster’s Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary defines reverie as “a state of dreamy meditation or fanciful musing; a daydream, a fantastic, visionary or unpractical idea.” It is a romantic notion that has less to do with the big questions of existence than it does the incidental parts of daily existence. Reverie is a state of mind that comes from being receptive and finding simple pleasure in the affects of imagination. My paintings, drawings and sculpture evolve out of the freedom to imagine shapes and spaces that describe different kinds of interactions. They come from recollection, awareness, and observation of the diverse sensual phenomena that surrounds me. The variety of interactions between forms such as contrast, imbalance, balance or synchronicity, have the potential to evoke various aspects of being: vulnerability, uncertainty, confidence, and determination. Possible interactions between shapes and spaces are what intrigue me most. Recently, I expanded the investigation of form to include objects and consideration of space. As the scale of my paintings and drawings grew, I became interested in the effects of three-dimensional objects in a space, such as a gallery. My inquiry …

I investigated several problems I have found concerning contemporary jewelry design. These problems are linked to the industrialization of jewelry making. The industrialization of jewelry making led to the preference of using less precious metal, of using Prong, Crown, and Channel stone-settings, and of using high polished mirror finish for surface treatment. My work addressed the prominence of metal in jewelry design and alternate forms and techniques of stone-setting and surface treatment.