Big News - moving to the UK!
This has taken many steps, hard work, and been about a year in the making; I am so excited to announce that my Global Talent Visa has been accepted by the UK Arts Council!!!
Still more logistics and details to arrange, but what this means is Ame and I will be moving to southern England this fall.
I will still be making custom (bespoke) mokume gane rings, and I’ll also continue teaching mokume gane classes (short courses) all over - I’m currently arranging classes in Seattle, Atlanta, West Dean, and western Ireland.
Most importantly I’ll be able to continue making my mokume gane vessels, being inspired by the UK landscape and being part of the UK’s amazing crafts community.
I have many people to thank for making this possible, but right now I am feeling so grateful to my teacher Helen Shirk for showing me the importance of hard work and high standards. I am also grateful to my mentor Ford Hallam, who generously helped me enter a Japanese metalwork competition in which I was awarded a Bronze first seat for my cherry blossom tsuba. That award was central to my application being approved. I will never forget his selflessness, at a time when his own health meant he wasn’t able to finish and enter his masterwork.
