1500degrees Artwear
Chester Springs, PA
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I hold a Master’s degree from the University of the Arts and have been teaching art and design courses at the community college level for 10 years. I am an oil painter practicing in the color realism method first taught by Charles Hawthorne and his successor, Henry Hensche. I paint primarily landscape (en plein air), still life, and portrait subject matter.

In my jewelry design, I am most influenced by the forces of nature, color, and light. I also like the technical challenges of creating a mechanical piece of jewelry (how things “fit” together and work). I’ve always had a keen interest in the creative process. Currently, I’ve been exploring the ancient craft and skill of the Cloisonné/Champleve technique. Many hours are devoted in creating each unique piece as thin, transparent layers of enamel are fired onto fine silver with imbedded cloisonne wires. Conversely, I also enjoy a more free style approach of immersing the metal directly into the enamel color. This creates an organic, natural, and oftentimes unexpected “happy accidents” on the surface of the piece. The immersion technique involves heating the metal until it glows red and “dipping” it directly into the enamel colors. Beautiful things happen when colors are layered and over-fired! I use either a torch or kiln-fired approach based on the enameling method and design.