Pewter and Copper vessel

1980 3.5” x 2.25”

In 1980 I took a pewter workshop taught by Fred Fenster.

This vessel is constructed from a rolled sheet of heavy gauge pewter and then butt welding the seam using thin strips of pewter. It is then shaped using wooden hammers over steel stakes. The bottom is soldered on. The rim was forge tapered and then fitted and soldered to the body.

Dream Container

"Dream Container"

1979 4”x2”x1”

This fabricated sterling container was made during my time at the Visual Arts Center in Anchorage, Alaska. Repousse and chasing were used to shape the container’s lid. Containers and hinges have always fascinated me and I take pride in the smooth operation of the hinge and the way the lids snap onto the body of the containers.

The container is mounted into a carved base of African Wonderstone.

Forged sterling and turquoise Neckpiece

The work of Ronald Hayes Pearson had a profound effect on my work. His work appeared regularly in the books and the craft magazines I read. The first collar I ever forged was directly taken from the demonstration Pearson did in the book Contemporary Jewelry by Philip Morton printed in the late ‘60s.

Here is a neckpiece forge in sterling with a hinged pendant portion mounted with a turquoise cabochon. The use of circles is often seen in my work. It is very satisfying to play with their placement to create designs that appeal to me.

Reliquary to the Moon

I was in high gear during my stay at the Visual Arts Center in Anchorage, Alaska. This is an ambitious piece that used repousse for the faces. It is fabricated of brass sheet and acrylic at the base. I made use of brass nuts and bolts to join the pieces. The faces can be removed to allow the placement of illusive lunar relics. The face assembly is allowed to spin through the pierced opening in the elongated oval brass plate. The rivets are decorative.

1978 6”x3”x6”

Forged brooch with hemitite bead

sterling, hemitite, stainless steel

2.25" wide

This brooch was made a few years ago and is typical of much of my current work. I love using texture in my pieces and I use it to contrast with the highly polished surfaces.

Raising the Connection to the Past

The skills required to raise a simple bowl are not complicated and require patience and practice to create a shape that is pleasing. Each time I raise a bowl I experience a feeling of accomplishment that connects me to those craftsmen and women who preceeded me. These were the same skills used by colonial smiths and the tools I use are much like what they would have used. The bowl I create will have as much utility 200 years from now as it does today.

This bowl was one of a few created for a show on Modernism held at Armory Park in 2003.

Raising Vessels

To raise a vessel from a flat sheet is nothing short of miraculous. The plasticity of the metal allows the craftsman to create nearly any shape that is in his mind.

I first began raising after taking a weeklong workshop with David LaPlantz at the Visual Arts Center in Anchorage, Alaska during the late 1970s. Since that time I have raised vessels in copper, brass and sterling.

Here is a small vessel I raised a few years ago. it is finished with an ammonia, water and salt bury patina. There is nothing more pleasing than the surface of a well planished surface of a bowl.