Art has been a part of my life since I was a little kid. One of my earliest memories is when I cleaned out the bottom half of my closet to make an art studio. Four white walls that I could plaster with my paintings and I could close the door - it was heaven! Since then, I have endeavored to keep some creativity in my life at all times, painting classes, theater, Japanese/Chinese brush calligraphy and ikebana when I lived overseas, knitting, scrap-booking, paper crafting, fabric dyeing/painting, and now jewelry and silver-smithing!

For the past few years (ever since my first lay-off experience, gotta love high-tech!) I have looked for a creative outlet that would satisfy the various aspects of my personality and possibly allow me to have my own business. My family has seen me come back to Louisiana every Christmas with the results, like tie-dye t-shirts, hand-painted t-shirts, beaded jewelry, etc., including the famous pumpkin bread! The universal favorites have been the jewelry and the pumpkin bread!  Plus, I had always received compliments on the jewelry that I make at my friend Jacqueline's bead store in Fredericksburg, J's Kreations, but I wasn't sure that it was unique enough to be a viable business for me. Then, last spring, Jacqueline and I went to Santa Fe and took a fine silver silver fusing class from Anne Mitchell at the Bead Fest show. As soon as I made my first link I knew this was for me. There is something so primal about working with fire and molten metal to create a thing of beauty. It is difficult for me to convey the feelings it evokes. I knew I could never give this up. On our drive home from Santa Fe, we took the Turquoise Trail through Cerillos and Madrid, New Mexico. It was a wonderful trip. The whole way home I had this question running through my head - hobby or business? Do I take the plunge? As we got closer to Austin, around 2:30 in the morning, everyone was asleep in the truck, and I asked myself - can I do this? Just then the highway curved to the left... I looked up and directly in front of me was this enormous crescent moon, bigger than any full moon I had ever seen. It filled the sky above the dark highway and seemed to touch the ground. I took that as a yes! That's how Wild Moon Design was born!

Sidenote: Recently, I went to Houston to view the Afghanistan exhibit at the Museum of Fine Art and I was amazed by the beauty of the work on the gold jewelry in the Bactrian Hoard. I felt an immediate pull of kinship through the centuries that separated us to the goldsmiths who created that jewelry. How gratifying and wonderful to think that it had survived thousands of years and that our techniques are still basically the same - forging, hammering, wire wrapping. It was so cool! I am in love with working with metal!

The pictures below are Jacqueline and me at the class in Santa Fe. I live in Austin, Texas with my two teenage boys, two dogs and four cats. We love Austin, though it can get a little hot!