My mother, Barbara Stanger, is a metal smith who taught me how to enamel and solder at a young age.  I can’t remember exactly how old I was when a cloisonné artist came to our local art center to teach a workshop, but I took the class and was hooked.  Since then, I have been creating works in enamel and silver off and on.

This piece “Spring” on silver collar I created while taking classes at the Sharon Art Studio in San Francisco. Actually, it took about nine months to make this. Fabrication and cloisonné are very time consuming.

This little “Sunburst” pendant has been a favorite of mine for a while. I hadn’t done any cloisonné since I was a kid but started up again when I was living in Kaneohe, HI. I had (and still have) one of those little Trinket kilns, which is only about 6″ in diameter–perfect for creating little enamel work at home. I still needed a studio to fabricate the setting so I took a class at the Honolulu Academy of Arts.

I’m grateful for these wonderful local art studios that hold classes for people like me to indulge my old love for all kinds of crafts and art.

I created the “Star Flower” a while ago and sent it to my Mom, who set the “jewel” for me.