Biography
Barbara was raised in Chicago, Illinois. She studied the art form of jewelry and metalsmithing as an undergraduate student. The addition and love for enameling in combination with metalworking and jewelry making began during graduate school, with continued exploration during the following ten years of university teaching. Barbara left the university with a desire to spend her professional life as a full-time studio artist. She spent the next twenty years creating and marketing her enameled jewelry in galleries and by participating in prestigious juried craft shows such as the American Craft Council Craft Shows and the Philadelphia Museum Craft Show. Her work can be seen in publications such as The Art of Enameling, 500 Enamel Objects, 500 Brooches and The Penland Book of Metalworking.
“Underlying and driving the development and execution of my enameled jewelry is a love for color, working with metal and explorative research of formal, technical and material concerns relative to enameling. Results often begin with asking the question “what if”. My research oriented studio practice leads both to the perfection of traditional methods and to unexpected experimental results. When the processes are reliably repeatable they become a useable in my finished jewelry. My visual influences derive from historical, architectural or botanical references and are impacted by images from current favorite locations. Surface, form, functionality, technical excellence, beauty and visually stimulating results are carefully considered while researching an idea, developing appropriate technical applications and finally designing and making jewelry or objects.”
Barbara now focuses her studio practice on researching and innovating enamel processes, preparation for teaching workshops at craft schools and colleges and creating very special enameled jewelry and objects that utilize her well developed enameling and metalworking skills.
“I believe that in-depth visual, conceptual and technical investigation along with experimentation provides increased expertise, continual discovery and heightened aesthetic development.”
