A brief biography up to now
As a Studio Art major at Westmont, a liberal arts school in Santa Barbara California, I most enjoyed my classes in printmaking, stone carving, jewelry, and bronze casting. What these mediums had in common was messiness, physicality, use of special tools, and three dimensionality.
Just before graduation I stumbled into an apprenticeship at a metal fabrication shop, one that specializes in hand forged architectural ornamental ironwork. As in; fancy gates and railings and such. Blacksmithing was dirty, dimensional, physical, required using very fun tools, and focused on functionality. It was exactly what I had been looking for.
In 2014 however, I left that job for true love, which is a fire hotter than any forge. My partner (then and now and forever) was accepted to a PhD program in Irvine California, so I moved there with him. Being a blacksmith was a cornerstone of my identity, so I found ways to support my habit in and around other work.
In 2016 chance, luck, and determination aligned and I rented a small industrial space and started a custom metalwork business. In 2017 the stars again aligned and I began teaching classes in blacksmithing, bronze casting, and welding at Orange Coast College. After some program changes due to the pandemic, I continue to teach welding there.
After several years of teaching, fabricating commission, and fitting in my own projects here and there, I decided to return to school. I was accepted to Claremont Graduate university with a full scholarship and graduated with my MFA in 2022. What came out of those two years of school was not landing gallery representation and a solo show (though I am still open if anyone’s looking) but a better understanding of how I worked and what I liked to make. My thesis show focused on forged furniture, but also featured films made with an 8mm camera, and my first work in stained glass.
In 2023 I gave birth to my daughter and in 2025 my son. Talk about life changing… The first time around felt like I could suddenly see a new color that wasn't there before and that I didn’t have a word for. When the second color flashed into existence it was a bit blinding. My brain and optic nerves have been adjusting since. And of course, my practice as an artist has been entirely disrupted. But art is my lifeline in the blizzard of now that connects me to my past and assures me of a future as myself. So I cling to it.
One way to strengthen my grip happened just before my daughter’s birth. Through my volunteer work for the Society of Inclusive Blacksmiths (SIBs), an organization focused on increasing access to blacksmithing for those who historically have been marginalized in the craft, an offer came my way to write a book. I took it. Sitting on my couch nursing my daughter I wrote about what I was not able to practice.
When my son was born in 2025 it was back to couch time, with a few openings for stained glass when naps lined up. During those first few months I finalized the edits for Contemporary Blacksmithing for Beginners, which is now in print. If you check it out I hope it’s helpful, I hope you like it, and I hope it brings some joy into your life.
As I write this my daughter is 3 and my son is 1. I teach welding one day a week and get an average of 2 hours a week at my shop. It is a crucible time. A chrysalis time. I can feel my brain dissolving inside my skull. Perhaps when the fire dies down I will be able to see what I have become and continue to become it.
