Art has always been a big part of my life.  I am the son of an artist
(Leslie Heen of Rochester NY). As long as I can remember I have always
made things with my hands.  In my twenties, I apprenticed with artist
and Professor Richard Beale, (State Univ. of New York at Geneseo), doing
painting and drawing.  I studied drawing and sculpture at Portland
School of Art.  I was introduced to jewelry making in 1991 by my friend
Bill Thorpe of Future Relics.  I apprenticed and worked for him until
1997 doing Celtic Knot Work jewelry.  I started my studio in 1998.

I have a life long interest in texture, structure and form and a strong
desire to create and express beauty.  I am inspired by the richness and
harmony of nature and all its textures and forms.  I am equally
intrigued by traditional techniques and innovative technologies.  I love
kinetic art and mechanical structures.  (Much of my early work contains
articulated joints for movement.)  I think that sculpture is the
ultimate form of expression: to see concepts manifest in tangible three
dimensional form.  Hence, the name, Thoughforms.  Being a sculptor by
training, creating jewelry made sense to me.  I was also drawn by the
technical, mechanical aspects of jewelry making.  I enjoy being
meticulous and working on a fine scale.  Jewelry allows me to put all
aspects of myself into focus: mental, emotional, physical and
spiritual.  In jewelry making I found a way to integrate all my
interests in one art form.

The two lines of work I offer reflect these interests. The mixed media
line, features a variety of pieces.  I like the richness mixed media
affords.  The texturing, color and contrast created by mixing metals and
stones, wood and bone, gives me that. Draped Wings, the gold, silver and
wood piece, is the first of the woodforms line.  I have found a
specially processed wood that can withstand water, dryness, and wear and
tear without cracking.  I do recommend handling the piece with care, as
with any wood, but the discovery of this wood allows me to use wood as a
sculptural element and still give the wearer durability.  I am currently
making a bracelet using the same burl and have several pieces planned
for Fall 1999.   I use innovative (computer modeling) as well as
traditional techniques (repousse, forging, wax carving, chasing).  I use
cast elements such as the patterning in Basketweave, or the form of C
Squared or the body of the Snail pin, but each of these patterns or
forms starts as either chased metal (Basketweave), repousse (Snail and C
Squared), or an etching as with the silver portion of Sunburst.  I also
roll patterns (Draped wings), forge (Sunburst gold) and reticulate
silver (Reticulated Drops).  Handwork goes into every piece.

Faceforms, the whimsical line, reflects another side of me.  This
humorous line was inspired by the Gossip piece, a work I created early
in my career, which has been well received.  This whimsical line
features characters in relation to one another and taps into the
interpretive part of the wearer.  Several of the pieces offer the wearer
choices.  The earrings, for example can be bought as pairs of like
images or paired with “opposite” images (see Daydreamer or All Eyes).
The  Swivel Pendant actually pivots displaying alternative images. It
was gratifying too, to find the inherent value in years of character
doodling.

I still do and love two dimensional art.  The sketches used for the
Faceforms line were hand drawn for the final etching, although I use
modeling software to refine my concepts, to size, and often develop the
linework of a piece.  This reflects both my basis in the fine arts and
my interest in technology and graphics.  In fact, the Faceforms line is
the first in the cartoon series: a series of pieces I hope to do which
are playful, active scenes.  Most of them will be fabricated or carved
in wax.  Some will be etched.  My ideas always live in my sketchbook for
a time before they are promoted to prototypes.  Some of the pieces will
have a theme such as materialism or the lightness of childhood.  All my
work features original art.  The humorous lines are meant to deliver,
lightly, more serious ideas.

I continue to develop my skills through workshops such as Steve Midget’s
Mokame Gane workshop.  I feed on a steady diet of nature and art.  I
also find inspiration in jewelry journals (Lapidary, Metalsmith,
Ornament, …) and regular review of emerging technologies (CAD, 3D
printing, laser welding).  I participate in a small guild in upstate NY
and co-create with its members as often as I can.  I am developing my
visual language.  I draw as much as time allows and I work on
spirituality and good health as a basis for my life.  This past year,
Thoughtforms, the business, has taken up all my time.  I am very
fortunate that my art and my business are one and the same.