Simple in shape yet complex in detail, The work of Jodi Rae Designs is much like the natural and urban worlds from which the artist takes her inspiration. “It's a very personal process,” Jodi Rae says of her craft, “I create it as it comes out of me, and I feel like it becomes a sort of pure extension of myself.”

Each piece is rendered through an intimate process combining techniques such as forging, stamping, casting, various stone-setting methods, and finishing techniques including oxidation, brushed, matte and high-polish.

The similarities between the artist and her work are reflected in their capacity to be edgy but classic and timeless in design, soft and strong in shape and character, and endlessly versatile in context. “I am so inspired by the beauty of the forms and shapes found in nature and in our modern world,” she states, “that I had to incorporate them directly into my art.” Her particular affinity for different stones and minerals has led her to put elements like jasper, agate, and fossils at the heart of many her creations.

Jodi Rae strives to maintain a fresh approach in her art, always seeking ways to differentiate her pieces from anything she's seen before. Her life-long passion for adventure in finding new inspiration has led her to many places across the world, including Florence, Italy where she went through an intensive jewelry-making program. Under the instruction of an international staff from Italy, Brazil and China, she was trained in a number of ancient techniques including filigree, granulation, mokume, pave and various stone-setting methods.

With this acquired skill and a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree from the University of Colorado, Jodi Rae has her own successful company and a community of dedicated collectors among an ever-expanding sea of Jodi Rae Designs customers. The consistent market and response to her work has brought her honors including features in various publications, television broadcasts, and awards such as First Place in Jewelry at the Gold Coast Art Fair (Chicago, 2001). She has been represented in multiple galleries around the country, and has participated in various national juried exhibitions and art fairs including the Cherry Creek Arts Festival in Denver, Colorado and the Coconut Grove Arts Festival in Florida.

“It's an adventure for me every time I start a new design;” says the artist, “I often end up in a completely different place than I anticipate, and that's an exhilarating process for me.” She enthusiastically claims her aspiration to be like the visually textured stones and minerals she uses in her jewelry, comparing the complex appeal of nature's patterns to the visual story she expresses in her finished pieces. It's a story she feels is constantly evolving, like her own journey through design and concept on the path of her trade, both in the past and into the future. She is excited-along with a considerable population of dedicated Jodi Rae collectors-to see where her art will take her next.