It was several years after I started making jewelry professionally, in the early 1970's, when I first experienced a true revelation of the creative mystery. That moment of illumination which every artist deserves to have at least once in their creative lives, but if you're very lucky, you get to experience on many occasions. That moment which delivers the clear but numbing realization of the numerous, interconnected machinations between the hand that moves and the mind that moves it, and the knowledge of the role you play in the manifestation of objects of meaning and importance for you and, more importantly for others.

In my case, the realization was that my love of making jewelry was not just about making jewelry but about making "objects". That designing and making jewelry could actually mean more than producing objects of adornment. That it could be a means of personal expression which might affect people in a much more serious and purposeful way. That it might provide an opportunity for the real communication of ideas and, most importantly, that it could provide the stimulating and inspiring raw material for the imagination. In short, I no longer saw jewelry as jewelry but as a medium of artistic expression akin to that of painting or sculpture.

From the mid to late 70's I experimented continuously with the application of the ideas and techniques of collage and assemblage to jewelry making. I'd been heavily influenced during my college theatre days by the work of Joseph Cornell, Max Ernst, Man Ray, Marcel Duchamp and especially Picasso and George Braque. Collage and Assemblage techniques, invented by the cubists and developed by the Surrealists, DaDaists, the Italian Futurists and the Russian Constructivists represented art thinking and making totally peculiar to the Twentieth century.

I assumed the personal challenge of finding my own way to apply these influences and techniques to the making of jewelry objects that could have a wide public audience. Potent examples from the field of contemporary metals, which confirmed me in this direction, were offered in the work of metal artists and teachers such as Robert Ebendorf and Fred Woell in America, and Anton Cepka, Claus Bury and Herman Junger in Europe. All of whom were influenced by these same 20th century art movements. The "Techno-Romantic¨ style that I developed from this investigation has become the guiding vocabulary for a significant portion of my work as an artist and it continues to be a powerful resource.

I adopted the techniques of collage and assemblage and applied them to making of jewelry objects with the intention of making them available to as wide an audience as possible. In a conscientious decision made in the late 70's I eschewed the use of precious metals or gemstones and concentrated solely of found and alternative materials. I was determined to have the work for of the imagery and meaning encompassed in it rather than the perceived intrinsic value of the materials employed in it's making. It is my hope that my work will challenge the viewer and the wearer to derive a common denominator of personal meaning and value from the assemblage of components presented.

I also assumed the personal mission to bring this amalgam of materials, techniques and influences, in the form of wearable jewelry objects to the general public, exclusive of the museum and gallery system. In the early years of my carrier the primary means of reaching the public was through the craft fair system. At that time, (early to mid 70's) the contemporary craft gallery system was still developing, so there was not much choice for the artist except to exhibit via the art fair, and later the craft fair systems.

In an ongoing effort to define this work with words other than those employed by the art establishment I came up with a succession of terms that evolved over time into Techno.Romantic®. First in the series in the late 70's was Heartwear (post hippie mysticism), then in the early eighties I switched to Future Primitive (the discovery of primitive multicultural design roots). Having gotten a cease and desist letter from the owners of the copyright to that name I switched once again to the eclectic handle of Para-Normal Jewelry Objects (new wave technofreneticism).

Techno-Romantic® encompasses each of these phases. It is home base. It was always there waiting to be recognized. I had been a Techno-Romantic all along. It just took the time and life experience to find out. I invented this phrase in 1984 and immediately trademarked it. It is the guiding vocabulary for most the my work as an artist and continues to be a powerful resource.

Now, at the end of the century that provided me with the impetus and opportunity to become an artist and to thrive one, I also have the internet available a fluid and meaningful way to bring my work to the public as well. The Internet is definitly a Techno-Romantic@ event. To find out why please read Techno.Romantic Philosophy in the next section of the site.