My work in the studio is spent going back and forth between mining the old ideas and ushering in the new. Truthfully my mind is many steps ahead of my hands. I think I have always lived with  creative insomnia. Restless with things that I've explored before, wanting to push into the unknown, living with the risk and challenge that comes with that territory is easier for me than boredom.

Once I have an idea I have to judge my commitment to it. Is it urgent enough that I must…

"Root" necklace, 2011 (Photo Steven Brian Samuels)

One of the pieces selected by…

I have been feeling very nostalgic for San Francisco since my visit there last November. Strangely this is always triggered when I see a house in New Jersey with a stucco exterior.  I realized the places I lived the longest or during important turning points in my life were all stuccoed. I never realized that this visual memory was so strong. I felt something like this when I moved back to S.F. after living in Wisconsin for three years, I thought I longed to see the ocean again, but what hit…

The Freshest work at the show? By some standards*. I had a great time at the Smithsonian Craft Show, meeting wonderful artists, hearing people laugh out loud to my wearable wall piece "Hot Water", selling new multiples and one of a kind work. Although, some artists felt the show was less busy than last year and it did conflict with SOFA NY, which isn't desirable, I did pretty well for all new work and no mailing list.

*Edgy art can be polarizing with strong negative and…