...and how he influenced my jewelry making.

 

My father passed away at the end of June 2022. I will miss so much; most of all, I will miss experiencing the depth of his love.

Dad was brilliant and an artist. His first career was engineering, which he left shortly after I was born to be a fine furniture maker. It wasn't just a career change; it was an entire lifestyle change. We moved to the North Georgia mountains when I was two years old, and Dad built our house from scratch. His furniture-making workshop was adjacent to the house, so he could work surrounded by the nature he loved.

Dad literally hand carved wood into beautiful reproductions of Chippendale and Queen Anne antique furniture. In many ways my path has mirrored his - leaving a first career to pursue one in the arts. He modeled passion for his art, hard work, business sense, and success.

This excerpt of Walden, by Henry David Thoreau, reminds me so much of Dad and his journey: "I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived."

Being with him (with my mom) during his final days is the honor of my life. Nothing could have prepared me for how hard this loss is, or the profound grief. I miss you, Daddy, may you rest in peace.