ARTIST STATEMENT

Alchemy is the magical process of transmuting matter. Metalsmithing is an alchemical process, and the type of material knowledge used in both is sacred, ritualized, and mystical. My work focuses on the sense of wonder and fascination often experienced when confronted with an unintelligible material transformation or amalgamation. By using alchemical-like techniques – alloying, the melding of pure metals through melting, and fusing, the buttressing of two metals through heat and pressure, as well as Japanese patination, a surface level chemical reaction that alters the metal’s coloration – I encourage enchantment with my materials through the obscurity of their essence.