About The Artist

A Filipino/Russian hybrid artist currently residing in the outskirts of the Seattle area. Carving her way through the world from a small garage studio, she makes everything from large charcoal 2D art, brooms, heirloom jewelry, music, to roller skates.

“Ever since I could recall, I’ve always known that I loved working with my hands. Long before I had any teachers or training, I knew to my core that I was meant to create. I didn’t know what. Or why. However, I did know that it was as much a part of me as breathing. I knew that if I didn’t, I might as well be dead.”

I started creating jewelry a lifetime ago while I was still traveling. Not traveling in the way that most would assume, but by extravagantly coarser means. I’m not speaking of passenger trains or airplanes. I’m talking about hitchhiking by day with shady strangers of questionable intent and dodging through dark freight train yards by night. Homeless? I suppose you could call it that, though it’s not the word I’d like to use.  When you’re constantly moving your home becomes motion. I felt at home in any situation, despite the location. However, I’ve encountered thousands of bridges on my treks across the country, I still slept under them just about as often as I crossed them.

In the beginning, the jewelry I made was embarrassingly crude. I started off with a large handheld brazing torch meant for construction, the scant coins in my pocket, and recycled bits of random jewelry people had given me. I’d set up on the sidewalks in random towns as I’d pass through and put on a show of fire, flux, and solder. At the time, the pieces I made were just as likely to break as to hold together, but I still displayed them proudly on my blanket. Even if they were horribly oxidized, they still sold just the same. It had started off
as a hustle, a way to provide myself with the essentials without having to beg for them. However, the more I created, the more I learned. The more obsessed I became with the details.

Finding teachers while I canvased the United States was surprisingly easy and always a blessing. I was willing, sociable, and worked hard. I soaked up knowledge quicker than a sponge and was eager to please. It’s a little painful looking back on it now, but I wouldn’t have chosen any other way to learn. The instructors I’ve had the pleasure and misfortune of meeting are the keystone of what I am today. They taught me the meaning of craftsmanship, the honor in taking pride in one’s work, and of the double-edged sword in taking pride in oneself.