Pat Baker
I've been making jewelry since I was 8 or 9 years old, first getting beads from Tandy Leathercraft (still in Baltimore) and making bracelets on my great-grandmothers Indian bead loom, and then getting my Dad to help me make rings from a cedar branch I found in the neighborhood. Fast forward to 1998 when I discovered a bead store in Fells Point and spent every penny I had on beads and findings, taking lampwork bead classes to make my own beads and making a booth to sell at local craft fairs. I joined a lapidary guild and learned to cut and polish rocks and gems and eventually began teaching jewelry classes there, and at a local community college. I earned a certificate in Jewelry from Maryland Institute College of Art in 2010 and continue to learn different techniques through the Baltimore Jewelry Center.
I work in sterling silver, bronze, copper, titanium, niobium, steel and precious metal clay, My inspiration comes from the nature - many times the stones that I use remind me of a story or a theme that is reflected in the finished work.
