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ABout Us An Artisan Journey
An Artists Dream, Fred and laurel
1971 found us living in Southern Illinois, not far from the convergence of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers; here, our first ceramic art and jewelry business originated, "Lick Creek Pottery."
The alchemists' act of magically transforming clay by a kiln firing set ablaze a desire to incarnate jewelry from earth materials; Like ceramics, jewelry is born of fire and earth, and our art jewelry progressed from porcelain to silver and gold.
18K Gold Artisan Jewelry
Years of hands-on arts involvement have given us advanced-level skills to design imaginatively and fabricate unique gold and silver artisan jewelry.
Pictured is a Tahitian Pearl pendant, handcrafted in wax and cast in 18K fine gold.
Artistic Aspirations
Fred grew up in the former home of the renowned Ash Can School of Art artist Everett Shinn, Palenville, NY, the Bailiwick. Art was introduced to Fred early on, while my artistic adventure developed during our college years. We both attended the same Universities, Oklahoma State University, Denver University, and Southern Illinois University, to study art.
After graduation, artistic life beckoned. So we created art, all the while selling at craft fairs and galleries, in this manner, keeping our artisan dream alive.
The Jewelry and Art Studio
Our studio since 1979, a one-room schoolhouse 6 miles from Woodstock, NY, is pictured.
We employ several art mediums to express our creativity; silver-gold art jewelry, acrylic painting, ceramic sculpture, and pottery; always a team, at times Fred the artist, and me the artist's muse.
Laurel at the art Jewelers Bench
Today we are both art educators and studio artists. As educators, we manage the ceramic arts program at a small college in upstate NY. In addition, a well-equipped Woodstock, NY, jewelry studio enables us to fabricate art as wearable jewelry sculptures, complementing our lifework in the arts.
Grendel Beowulf Dragon
Throughout our creative undertaking, a dragon artisan image has frequently reappeared in our jewelry, painting, and sculpture since its inception brought about by a commission depicting Grendel's Dragon by novelist John Gardner in 1971.
"Children of the Sky" Cupid and Psyche Painting
Pictured is an acrylic oil on linen romantic portrait painting of Fred and Laurel, "Children of the Sky."
A closer look reveals a quiver and arrows at Fred's back, a reference to the mythologies Cupid and Psyche.
The allusion to Cupid's "Love Conquers All," two artists' life dreams united by their love and art.
Unique Fireplace
Pictured is an architecture fireplace, complete with ceramic sculptural details.
Challenge us to forge a one-of-a-kind jewelry artisan design for you, on the other hand, with a commission to create a clay sculpture, portrait, or ceramic wall mural deserving of Beowulf's lair.
Contact us; we can materialize fantasies.
Making Arts Crafts Jewelry
Our jewelry differs from the trendy mass-produced fashion jewelry found on most internet sites or at major retailers.
All the work is designed and made by our hands. We use traditional metalsmithing techniques in forging precious metals and do not employ 3D Cad software, print wax by machines, or cast in mass quantities. Instead, our castings are hand-carved in wax and then cast in our studio as limited edition and one-of-a-kind, wearable sculptures.
Artists making jewelry are the focus, as exemplified by the Arts and Crafts movement. Therefore, we want to think of our jewelry as a continuum of artistic explorations—studio artists at work.