Born and raised in Iowa, Cathleen says her parents were “unconventional”. They exposed her and her sister to art, music, books, film and interesting people and provided a broad variety of creative experiences. Coming of age in the 60’s also ultimately influenced her lifestyle choices. Traditional ways of living and making a living, along with the role of women were all opened up for her to explore and question.
After high school she attended a small liberal arts college where she credits, Master Silversmith, Louis Zirkel with encouraging her first adventures in working with silver.
“That was it! Metal was my medium” says Cathleen. Bringing an original design concept into a three dimensional form that is functional in a medium that has specific technological requirements is a challenge. She says her work reflects Zirkel’s teaching. He was charismatic, demanding and passionate about his craft and pushed his students to excel in creating labor intensive hand fabricated pieces of clean contemporary design and high polish. While Cathleen has worked in both gold and silver she describes silver as, “sensuous, seductive and elegant”.
In 1970 Cathleen moved to Boulder, where she took her first jewelry class at the University of Colorado and then on to Aspen where she helped open a jewelry shop for a friend. In the mid 70’s she apprenticed for a production jeweler where her knowledge of jewelry techniques expanded to include lost wax design, casting and mold making. Over the years she has also taught herself enameling, forging and fusing to increase her creative options.
“I love bringing my concepts to physical completion that customers are drawn to and I particularly enjoy working with customers on custom pieces” says Cathleen.
Cathleen finds her inspiration from her love of nature but her styles range from contemporary art and architecture to Native American and Scandinavian designs. Her work favors bold, statement oriented designs that are intended to enhance and express the personality of the wearer. Each piece is made one at a time and is one of a kind. Cathleen specializes in distinctively fabricated cast and fused metalsmithing techniques and in them, she often incorporates freshwater pearls, as well as precious and semi-precious stones.
Over the years she has had studios in both Aspen and Durango and eventually opened her own shop in Carbondale, Colorado. The shop was a contemporary crafts gallery where she represented many local artists. She says it was a wonderful experience but 10 years later it was time to move away from the very expensive Roaring Fork Valley.
Many years earlier she had been working in a retail store that carried a wonderful line of painted children’s tee shirts created by artist, Suki Strong from a town called Cedaredge. While selling her jewelry in the Redstone Art center Cathleen noticed works by Dale Russell Smith, Bertie Marah and Linda Palmer, who were also from that same town called Cedaredge. One day she decided to check it out.
Upon her arrival, Cathleen quickly discovered The Apple Shed gallery, owned by Connie Williams and featuring a wonderful array of local and non-local artists. She was intrigued by the Munson’s Gallery (now Stacy’s On Main) where the owners told her that “this is a place where artists work and thrive”. And undeniably, she fell in love with the uncompromising beauty of the landscape surrounding Cedaredge. The ease of traveling from the canyon country, through orchards and vineyards and up to the high Mesa cinched the deal.
She sold her business in Carbondale, bought a small house with a studio at the base of the Grand Mesa and redirected her business to one of creating jewelry, selling in markets around the southwest and living a quieter lifestyle, which she truly loves. Cathleen’s work has been sold in retail shops and galleries in Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Arizona and has been shown in museum shops of the Smithsonian, The Museum of Modern Art in New York, The Art Institute in Chicago, the Museum of Fine Arts in Santa Fe and the Los Angeles County Museum in California.
Cathy feels blessed to live in Colorado, surrounded by nature and wildlife. She is an avid outdoor enthusiast and spends her free time hiking and camping in the mountains, canyons and deserts of Colorado, Utah and Arizona. Closer to home in Cedaredge, she is a faithful volunteer at the Surface Creek Animal Shelter.
After high school she attended a small liberal arts college where she credits, Master Silversmith, Louis Zirkel with encouraging her first adventures in working with silver.
“That was it! Metal was my medium” says Cathleen. Bringing an original design concept into a three dimensional form that is functional in a medium that has specific technological requirements is a challenge. She says her work reflects Zirkel’s teaching. He was charismatic, demanding and passionate about his craft and pushed his students to excel in creating labor intensive hand fabricated pieces of clean contemporary design and high polish. While Cathleen has worked in both gold and silver she describes silver as, “sensuous, seductive and elegant”.
In 1970 Cathleen moved to Boulder, where she took her first jewelry class at the University of Colorado and then on to Aspen where she helped open a jewelry shop for a friend. In the mid 70’s she apprenticed for a production jeweler where her knowledge of jewelry techniques expanded to include lost wax design, casting and mold making. Over the years she has also taught herself enameling, forging and fusing to increase her creative options.
“I love bringing my concepts to physical completion that customers are drawn to and I particularly enjoy working with customers on custom pieces” says Cathleen.
Cathleen finds her inspiration from her love of nature but her styles range from contemporary art and architecture to Native American and Scandinavian designs. Her work favors bold, statement oriented designs that are intended to enhance and express the personality of the wearer. Each piece is made one at a time and is one of a kind. Cathleen specializes in distinctively fabricated cast and fused metalsmithing techniques and in them, she often incorporates freshwater pearls, as well as precious and semi-precious stones.
Over the years she has had studios in both Aspen and Durango and eventually opened her own shop in Carbondale, Colorado. The shop was a contemporary crafts gallery where she represented many local artists. She says it was a wonderful experience but 10 years later it was time to move away from the very expensive Roaring Fork Valley.
Many years earlier she had been working in a retail store that carried a wonderful line of painted children’s tee shirts created by artist, Suki Strong from a town called Cedaredge. While selling her jewelry in the Redstone Art center Cathleen noticed works by Dale Russell Smith, Bertie Marah and Linda Palmer, who were also from that same town called Cedaredge. One day she decided to check it out.
Upon her arrival, Cathleen quickly discovered The Apple Shed gallery, owned by Connie Williams and featuring a wonderful array of local and non-local artists. She was intrigued by the Munson’s Gallery (now Stacy’s On Main) where the owners told her that “this is a place where artists work and thrive”. And undeniably, she fell in love with the uncompromising beauty of the landscape surrounding Cedaredge. The ease of traveling from the canyon country, through orchards and vineyards and up to the high Mesa cinched the deal.
She sold her business in Carbondale, bought a small house with a studio at the base of the Grand Mesa and redirected her business to one of creating jewelry, selling in markets around the southwest and living a quieter lifestyle, which she truly loves. Cathleen’s work has been sold in retail shops and galleries in Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Arizona and has been shown in museum shops of the Smithsonian, The Museum of Modern Art in New York, The Art Institute in Chicago, the Museum of Fine Arts in Santa Fe and the Los Angeles County Museum in California.
Cathy feels blessed to live in Colorado, surrounded by nature and wildlife. She is an avid outdoor enthusiast and spends her free time hiking and camping in the mountains, canyons and deserts of Colorado, Utah and Arizona. Closer to home in Cedaredge, she is a faithful volunteer at the Surface Creek Animal Shelter.