Sandy Mikel thinks of herself as an accidental jewelry artist and reluctant metalsmith.  She always enjoyed fiber crafts and loved working with wood, but never even thought about making jewelry and didn't see how anyone would want to work with metal. Her epiphany came in 2007 when she saw a book on metal clay. Intrigued by the idea of being able to actually shape metal with her hands, she took a class and was hooked.

About that time she came across  The Splendor of Ethnic Jewelry, France Borel and John Bigelow Taylor's book documenting the Colette and Jean-Pierre Ghysels collection, and it was a revelation about what jewelry is and can be. You can't look at a photograph of ear ornaments made from beetle wing cases, seeds, and toucan feathers, and not realize there may be possibilities that you haven't considered. As she began to incorporate more materials in her work she finally had to acknowledge that it was time to broaden her range of skills and began taking  jewelry construction classes.  Feeling comfortable mixing materials and techniques in whatever way seems best gives her a lot more freedom in design. Her necklace, “Moonstruck”, designed with silver, moonstones, and water buffalo horn,  was awarded second place in the 2015 Saul Bell Design Award alternative materials category. 

http://www.saulbellaward.com/Winners/Year/2015