Making (as) a Way of Life

I am a goldsmith, a spiritual director, and a lifelong student of the interior life.

My work lives at the meeting place of material craft and quiet presence — two distinct practices that arise from the same center.

I came to jewelry making and metalsmithing more than three decades ago, drawn by a fascination with transformation: raw materials becoming form, meaning, and heirloom. As my work matured, goldsmithing became the clearest name for the vocation that had taken root.

The bench has always been a teacher — of patience, precision, intuition, and the discipline of letting materials speak for themselves. In time, it became a place where story and matter met, not as metaphor, but as truth. Pieces carry narrative. Metals remember. Hands learn and relearn their own wisdom.

Spiritual direction grew alongside this craft. After years of listening to my own unfolding, I felt called to companion others in theirs. Trained and certified through The Haden Institute, I now hold a contemplative space where individuals and retreat groups can listen inward, follow what is stirring, and honor the wisdom already present within them.

The studio and the spiritual direction room are different in pace, posture, and tools — but the commitment I bring to each is the same.

Goldsmithing: A Conversation with Matter

Part of my journey at this point in my life and career is about the integration of spirit and matter. I suppose I have long known this, but only in recent years have I developed language for it. Metal is inherently elemental, and jewelry is beautifully archetypal. That is another intersection that jazzes me, along with the ones where art meets science, image meets meaning, or flame meets metal.

Jewelry is a deeply intimate art form because we wear it on our bodies, so it goes with us through our lives. And, each day we choose what pieces to wear and which ones to leave behind. Often there is an association with the jewelry we choose to wear － a commitment, an accomplishment, a legacy.

My jewelry is grounded in narrative and guided by an aesthetic that is organic but subtly refined, and fluidly architectural. I work with recycled precious metals, ethically sourced gemstones, and heirloom materials entrusted to me by my clients.

My design approach resists arbitrary correctness — the strict geometry, machine-perfect symmetry, and right angles that belong to manufacturing but not to the human hand. Instead, my work holds intention, balance, and the subtle irregularity that reveals touch.

Each piece is a collaboration: between material and meaning, story and structure, the client’s vision and the quiet formation that happens at the bench.

Spiritual Direction: A Place to Listen Within, Not Alone

I meet with individuals or retreat groups in a quiet space of curiosity and gentle inquiry, inviting and honoring the inherent wisdom of each person.

This work isn’t about answers, instruction, or expertise.

It’s about presence.

It’s about attending to the subtle movements of the inner life.

It’s about becoming more spacious with ourselves — and allowing what is true to surface in its own time.

My background includes the contemplative Christian tradition, Jungian depth work, Celtic spirituality, dreamwork, poetry, and the embodied practices that help us listen with more than our minds. I am comfortable in religious spaces, interspiritual spaces, and “spiritual but not religious” spaces. I honor the path each person walks.

Two Distinct Paths — One Integrated Life

Although both disciplines rise from the same center in me, they remain distinct.

Jewelry clients are not expected to explore spiritual direction, and spiritual direction clients are not necessarily connected to my jewelry work.

I meet people where they are, offering what feels natural — not a merged version of both.

Two practices.

Two containers.

One presence holding them.