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Welcome to my web site...I'm Willow the Wireweaver.
I'm originally from San Diego, lived in Hawaii two years,
then moved to Santa Fe in 1988 after four summers with their Opera. I'm an avid skiier and love to travel to exotic foreign locales. I also make an entirely separate line
of mixed-media collage named "junk mail" which will someday be on the
internet.
People ask how and why I began to crochet wire. I suppose it began
with a youthful interest in the arts and the freedom and means to
experiment with many mediums. I completed a BA degree in Art: Metals
('77) from San Diego State University. Then, for many years I worked
with leaded glass. I returned to SDSU to earn an MFA in Theater:
Costume Design ('85) where I became a dye master. During my last
semester I studied "Textile Techniques in Metal" with
Arline Fisch (she has a book by that name).
Though I'd never tried needle arts, I really enjoyed them with wire,
loving the flexibility and formative quality of woven metal. I was
challenged by crochet, but once I "got it," experiments
flew off my hooks and needles. People bought my work, a career changed,
and I couldn't stop. The portable nature of this craft allows
for proliferation and I've been found crocheting in some very unusual
places. Crochet/knitters know the addictive, meditative introspection
inherent in this work, it has centered me through changes, and provided
a living.
I work with gold, silver, steel, brass and copper; each metal has
unique tensile properties that affect design. The majority of my
work is in the thinner, color-coated copper made for electronic
use. Difficult to obtain, its softer nature is ideal for more intricate
work, is lower in cost, and the huge array of colors I've acquired
mix to create new ones. The use of beads is an important element
in my work, adding color, texture and light. My designs vary by technique, but range from period styles such as Victorian, Renaissance & Gothic, to organic floral forms, to high tech sleek & flexible
tubular items.
There are a few select galleries carrying my work. But (since '88)
I mainly sell/show my craft at juried art fairs around the western
states. I do between 15 and 20 shows annually, occasionally winning
awards. Though sales have directed my work, new experimental pieces
are always envisioned, inspired by my background in jewelry and
costume.

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