Sue Lawrence-Nester

I have always been referred to as an “artsy-crafty” person. When a diagnosis of Rheumatoid Arthritis knocked the wind out of my sails I turned to wire-working and beading under the instruction of Karin Saul. Since 2004 I have been creating art jewelry which I sell online and at local festivals. I have recently studied under Sara Sloan Stine and Marcia Macdonald at the Sawtooth School for Visual Art in Winston-Salem, NC. I specialize in three areas, wire-work, fabrication, and metal clay. Metal clay is quickly becoming a favorite because it is a new medium that offers endless opportunities to create unique one of a kind pieces. My creative process is based in coping with the pain and frustration of living with RA. Rather than let the pain control me, I control it by losing myself in my work, this gives a whole new meaning to the term “workaholic”. Each time I begin a new piece I have a vague idea of what I want to accomplish. However, 90% of the time the piece takes on its own energy and guides me to bring it to life.