I am actually a gourd artist that fell in love with doing jewelry. Metalsmithing has always intrigued me, so when a class was offered at Haywood Community College in Clyde, NC a couple of years ago, I signed up and have been doing metalsmithing ever since. I am mostly self-taught but I have taken classes at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, William Holland Lapidary School, and Studio3. I believe you should never stop learning.  I work a lot with mixed metals like silver, copper, and brass. I enjoy doing the Native American style of jewelry by stamping and incorporating different gemstones into my work. Turquoise is one of my favorite stones to work with.