"I have always been making things. As a child I built structures with Legos, created miniature pillows for my mother’s bed, designed floor plans with my dad, and of course strung beads into pieces of jewelry. Participating in pottery lessons and establishing a beaded jewelry business while attending Ashley Hall School, set the tone for my college interests. In Fall 2001, I attended the Savannah College of Art and Design to pursue my love of art and creation. There I studied various forms of art and design including photography, glass fusing, painting, book arts, papermaking, and sculpture, but my passion for jewelry-making still remained. Throughout my time at SCAD, creating jewelry became a way to express personal ideas and themes through form, design and materials. My work evolved from simply making “jewelry” to creating works of art.rnAfter graduation I moved to Asheville, N.C., in Fall 2005. I began collecting various pods, twigs, and colorful leaves— anything natural that represented growth and change— and visually studied the changing season. Thus was born my new line of jewelry, “Turning Over”, which will continue to evolve and change as life moves forward. I create jewelry not only to adorn the body, but also to express something of deeper meaning. My admiration and fascination for the natural world, and my connection to it, are what inspires me to create. The organic forms in my work pay homage to our Earth and symbolize the growth and transformation that is part of life".rn—Molly Dingledine