My father was a painter and growing up, canvases with vivid splashes of color were everywhere in our house, along with tubes of paint, paintbrushes, and photographs.  As a little girl, I would paint with my own paint by number sets while sitting beside my father as    he painted for hours.  My father’s real job though was as a neon tube bender in a sign shop.  I loved to tag along and watch him work the glass tubing in a torch.  He would bend and flex the heat softened glass that would become the letters for a sign.  The memories of the soft luminous glow of the neon have remained with me and continue to influence my work today, as seen in my Frozen Moments series.  My jewelry is created from many different  concepts, inspiration and techniques in glass and metal.  I began working in glass in 1980 and working in metals in 2000.  Being inspired by the color possibilities, I have started investigating incorporating polymer clay into my work.  I am collaborating with Ellen Prophater to expand my world view of jewelry.