Patti Miller

Meet the Designer-Artist

Where do you live?

Grants Pass, Oregon

What inspires you as a designer-artist?

I love creating jewelry as wearable art. Dreaming up something beautiful where nothing existed before. It allows infinite little avenues of expression in our daily lives.

I love what the individual human mind is capable of and what it can create.

What medium do you work with mostly?

I specialize in wire art and cold connection pieces and love to feature natural stone. I adore hammered wire, in particular spirals and flowing shapes. I love to create jewelry that is substantial, yet light and airy. I also specialize in wire writing.

Why did you become enchanted with this style of jewelry-making?

I was fortunate to have majored in jewelry design and metalsmithing at Humboldt State University under an incredible jewelry artist--David LaPlantz.

I left school with this deep love of creating jewelry. Without many resources and without access to all of the lovely tools in the jewelry lab at Humboldt State I worked with what I had--hand tools, and became very proficient in wire work. I've carried that work through different incarnations over the last twenty plus years.

I started out as Bending Heart Design, doing art faires and selling my work on Ebay. Later, I had an online business, Perfect Match Bridal Jewelry, then was a founding partner in Broadway Art Galley in Shawnee, Oklahoma. I also taught jewelry classes at a fine arts museum--the Mabee-Gerrer Museum of Art. When I moved to Oregon I worked for a time through the Ashland Art Center in Ashland, Oregon. Most recently I am a jewelry designer at Fire Mountain Gems.

Where and how do you sell your jewelry?

Currently I do private custom order work and events under the business name JewelerGirl. I can be contacted at patti.jeweler@gmail.com

What is the name of the piece you submitted with your success story?

Dumortierite, sterling silver, and copper cuff bracelet

How did it come together?

Sometimes I sketch out an idea prior to working if I have a specific desired design, but generally I visualize my design idea and just start working.

View all of Patti's Resources available at Fire Mountain Gems and Beads.