Growing Up Creative
I attended public school in New Jersey and always had a love of horses and drawing, I realized at a young age that the only way to make a small fortune in horses is to start out with a large one. I had little interest in jewelry at that time. Art seemed the most viable career option so I attended Parsons School of Design intent to major in illustration or fashion design. Much of my professional life was as a graphic designer but then moved to the dark side — marketing. I have had marketing positions in Sarasota/Bradenton and Panama City Beach, Florida. Then I moved north to the Scranton, Pennsylvania area as Executive Director of the Lackawanna County Convention & Visitors Bureau. After my three year contract was up there we moved to Marquette, Michigan after I accepted a position as the Executive Director for Travel Marquette, the Destination Marketing Organization for Marquette Michigan in the Upper Peninsula on Lake Superior.
Need a Hobby
When I was between horses while we were living on a farm in Myakka City, Florida near Bradenton, Florida my husband begged me to get an alternate hobby. I was obsessed with my job. I tried quilting; about 2500 little triangles are all cut out and still sitting there to this day. I did go on to sew some clothes, with a few unfortunate items but I had some good ones too. I also started exploring beading and jewelry informally.
There was a bead shop in Sarasota, Beads FOB, and took a fundamental class to get some answers to questions that I had. I found out I was a beading fool! Since I travel a lot for work, after my responsibilities are done for the day, I generally try to explore the city and manage a visit to a bead or jewelry shop. Now addicted to beading and finding unique items, I moved on to jewelry classes at the Manatee Art Center taught by Sue Simon. They opened their jewelry studio and I was in the first set of classes they offered. Eager to solder, saw and file, I truly found my hobby in jewelry-making.
Take a Break
As a member of the Manatee Art Center and the St Petersburg Art Center while living in the area. After moving to Panama City I did not have as much time for jewelry so I stopped for a few years. Panama City does not offer much as far as classes are concerned but I have rejoined the Florida Society of Goldsmiths. In Pennsylvania, there were many options for classes. Moving to Marquette has me remote from classes, but with Covid-19, there has been a silver lining in zoom and online classes from some amazing teachers.
