I suffered a stroke in June 2010 and subsequently have been inactive here since. That is about to change in the coming months. I expect to be exploring lost plastic casting techniques in the months to come and have new and exciting new work to present here in the fall (2013).

To make a short story long, I started my career in the arts as a child with music lessons. I attended SUNY, Fredonia as a Piano Major in the late 60s. The Viet Nam war interrupted that pursuit for a couple of years. In the interim, I re-thought wanting to persue a career in music - musicians generally have to work nights and/or travel a lot. Neither was particularly appealing to me. I took a job as a quality control inspector at Eastman Kodak, and pursued and completed a degree in Photography at Empire State College. I worked as a photographer at Kodak for a few years in the early 80's, but found that I was still working nights a lot of the time, and there was a pretty low ceiling over my income. I took advantage of a voluntary separation program and "retired" after 11 years of service. My next career started while I was in my role as a photographer. I took an interest in the emerging personal computer technologies. I maxed out my credit card and bought a Radio Shack TRS-80 Model I, upon which I built a tracking system for the photo lab. Customers were always calling to find out where their pics were, and the only way staff could figure that out was by visiting each station (retouching, printing, finishing, etc) in the lab. With the assistance of that little computer and the cooperation of the staff, who logged each job after they completed thier part of it, the person who answered the phone could have the answer in seconds. That was hot stuff in those days. I've been involved in Information Technology ever since with various companies: Perkin Elmer, Onetics, Telentry, Electronic Courier Systems, Xpedite, Premiere Global, and now Odyssey Systems. Along the way, as a balance for the heavy brain work, I developed a love for grinding gems and coercing metals into pleasing forms. I like to do things from start to finish. That's why I roll my own sheet metal from scrap and grain, roll my own tubing, draw my own wire, and grind my own semi-precious picture stones. I do purchase my faceted gems, from the best suppliers available. I can't do everything myself - but I do absolutely as much as I reasonably can. I use a variety of techniques ranging from solderless wire formed pieces, to forged, fabricated, and cast pieces or components. I am fond of sand-casting elements from antique artifacts like buttons or coins. I am also extremely fond of fossil materials and of mixing picture stones with faceted precious and semi-precious gems. Over time you will find items made from Sterling, 14K Gold,22K gold, and even 24K gold, emerald, sapphire, ruby, diamond, garnets of all colors, tourmalines, and picture jaspers and agates from around the world. I rarely use purchased components - no bails, no clasps, no toggles, no jumprings, no beadcaps, no focals. If it's a part of something I sell, I made it, and I made everything it's made from, except for faceted gemstones. I will sometimes offer a commercial chain or cord with a set or a pendant, as a low cost convenience for the customer. Such offerings will be clearly pointed out in the item listing. Jewelry making is currently a side career, latest in a long line of careers including musician, photographer, factory worker, computer scientist, information guru. Jewelry making is my ultimate career, intended to suppliment my income during my autumn years as I ease out of my current employment as an information technology executive. I view myself as the "Paul Creston" of jewelry - my livlihood comes from the business world, but my soul still needs to assert itself in the arts.