I was born in America to a Finnish mother and a Scottish father. On returning to Scotland as a child I was confused and upset to be called an American! Surely my father hadn't misinformed me about being a proud Scot. Now I had something to prove. This I think is what sparked my passion for all things Scottish, and gave me the need to prove myself...

Northern California, is where I've stayed off and on for most of my life. In 2001 my sons and I sold our home and landed here on Skye; one can't always choose ones place of birth but I know this is where I choose to live out my days, in Scotland, my home.

At age 15 I started metal work under the guidence of Navaho silversmith Joe Madrid in New Mexico. I am self-taught in as much as there has been no school to teach what I have learned. However there is much owed to the masters whose shoulders I've looked over.

I've studied and worked in the style of Art Nouveau, American Indian, ancient Egyptian, contemporary fine jewellery and fancy stone setting, and of course traditional Celtic and Pictish work. I've worked with many materials on many diverse projects, from miniature knives and pavé set diamonds, to a dining table made from old trophy ivory tusks. There was a yearlong project, a commission, to reproduce Salvador Dalis' "Apocalypse of St. John", a giant project for a gallery in San Francisco.

All of my work is hand carved, and greatest efforts are taken to keep this traditional art of ours alive. In this time of "more" and "faster" our memory of the noble things of the past, I believe, is what will carry us gracefully into the future.

I make no apologies for my romantic ideals. I believe it is from looking at what is good and fine around us that, honour, love, and art grow. These human characteristics are infused in the traditional Celtic work. These works of art that were left by our ancestors say more good about them than libraries filled with self-congratulatory histories ever could.

It is because of the great admiration I feel for my ancestors and the love I have for my children that I ambitiously carry on our living tradition.

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