Artist
Jivita Harris Casey was born in Dordrecht, Holland, but now lives in California with her family. "I love to travel as often as I can, but I must say California is really my favorite place. The sea air and water really have a hold on me!" Jivita's home studio opens onto a garden filled with native plants, her cat, a desert tortoise, and a ton of hummingbirds. She likes to work surrounded by her music (which ranges from all kinds of rock to jazz, world music, and electronic dance music), her favorite books, trinkets collected during her travels, and her metalsmithing tools.
Jivita has always loved jewelry for what it can reveal about the wearer. She was introduced to metal smithing at California State University Long Beach, when someone suggested she take a jewelry class. "It was as if bells started ringing, everything became obvious and clear. I finally found my passion!" Jivita enjoys working with texture and patina, finding ways to emphasize the raw shape and feel of the metal. The ideas she conveys with her jewelry are earthy and evocative but allow for plenty of interpretation.
