Julie Jerman-Melka

I have known ever since I was a child growing up on the shores of Lake Superior in Upper Michigan that I would work with my hands. The decision was solidified when I took my first metals class at Northern Michigan University in… well let’s just say it’s been a few years. It has been my passion ever since. The journey has taken me to Vail, Colorado where I worked as a goldsmith for 15 years. It has also taken me to Fort Collins, Colorado, where I earned my M.F.A. at Colorado State University in 1998. This enabled me to teach at the university level and share my love of the medium with others, which I did part time at Laramie County Community College in Cheyenne, Wyoming until recently. The journey has come full circle and taken me back to the source of my inspiration, Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, where I currently reside and maintain my studio. Each basalt stone used in the jewelry is hand collected along the magnificent beaches of Lake Superior and the metalwork on all pieces is done by hand from start to finish, with many shapes influenced by the shapes I see in the forests along my favorite lake. I feel fortunate to live in an area so rich in natural beauty and inspiration. When not in the studio, you can find me running, biking, paddle boarding, or sculling across some of the local inland lakes, and of course collecting more stones along the beautiful beaches of Lake Superior.