My parents and grandmother were artists, and from what I knew of their efforts, I was confident that jewelry/metalwork was a likely way to get a fairly regular income. I have always liked working with metal since my dad taught me to braze copper when I was ten—and how to straighten a piece of wire.

Although I live in the dry southwest, we do have a little lake nearby and I have a couple of little boats and love sailing. Being in the weather under the open sky is a pleasure after a routine of close work under bright unnatural light. The boat is a little vacation.

I work alone, on one-of-a-kind pieces, and take all the time I like. I’ve worked in production shops, where I learned a lot, and one thing was that turning out as many pieces as fast as possible is an awful drag and I’ll never do it again.

~S.B. Stuart