At the age of 8, my dad started me to work cleaning castings and working around his jewelry store. He was a master Jeweler, and wanted to pass on the trade to me. But, after years of sizing rings, fixing prongs, and general bench work, I left for college and vowed never to do jewelery again. I received a BFA a,d MFA in Fine arts, and a Med in Education. I taught Printmaking at U of Alabama for a while, and then became a real art teacher for a high school, where I still teach graphic Design. But, over the last five years, I have started integrating imagery that I was using in my painting and printmaking into jewelry designs. I don't consider myself a jeweler, per se, as much as an artist of wearable sculptures made of metals and stones.; www.myspace.com/reddog272 Cosmicfolklore