Star Bright & Desert Light

Here are two new pendants I've just finished. This one is a Montana sapphire pendant with a sterling silver starfish & seashell, cast from an actual starfish and seashell. I like how the two pieces come together beautifully to form one pendant.



This pendant is made with rock called Royal Sahara Jasper. It comes from the Great Sahara desert in Africa, but I purchased locally from a couple who travel there to collect it out in the middle of nowhere. I cut and polished the jasper which takes a wonderful shine. Look closely at the jasper and you'll see, it resembles a desert scene. How cool is that?

Seattle Aquarium Dome Dive

I've been a volunteer at the Seattle Aquarium for the past 7 years now. I'm a SCUBA diver in the Underwater Dome which is a 390,000 gallon tank filled with saltwater and fish indigenous to this area of Puget Sound. This is a short video that I edited down from footage that my dive buddy, Curtis, shot of me feeding the fish. You'll see a halibut, lots of salmon, a wolf eel (my favorite in the Dome) and a spiny dog fish which is a small shark. In the final shot you'll see a ling cod sitting just to the left of me. With exception to an occasional salmon that smacks into our head, the fish are not at all aggressive, although they can look rather menacing. The water was about 48 degrees this day and it was snowing when we entered the water. Some days it's a little hard to get motivated to do the dive, but once I'm in the water I love being there. It's a lot of fun.

Little Boxes

Boxes are objects that fascinate me. This is a copper box that I made that is acid etched on the top and covered with a green patina. I guess I like boxes because they are not only art, but are functional. The working parts of hinges and latches must fit together perfectly to work properly. Boxes are a lot harder to make than you might think. I've given up on making them because it came to a point where I became so frustrated trying to finish them and just moved on to other projects. But I've never given up the idea completely. They keep calling to me to come back.