Mary Castle White lives and works in San Francisco. Originally from Connecticut, she had an education and a career in the health sciences, although a love for working with metal and rocks was always in her heart. During her career in practice, teaching and research, her parallel life included scuba diving, under and above water photography, birding, and rock-hounding. Now retired from her formal career, she is happily focused on re-exploring her love for art, using her experiences as inspiration and finding the balance and joy of reconnecting with the people, environment, and values that are important to her.
Without formal art training, she nonetheless took art classes during her education in nursing, much to the displeasure of her instructors, and learned soldering, ceramics and other media that formed the basis for her current work in metal clay. She holds certification as a Precious Metal Clay Artisan, and is a GIA Gemologist. Most of the gems and rocks in her pieces come from collecting trips with friends over the years and as a member of gem and mineralogical societies. Her jewelry is based on the natural world and has evolved over the past 4 years as she expands her work.
Mary’s artwork consists of metal clay jewelry and wearable sculpture. She currently has exhibits at Macchiarini Creative Design Gallery in North Beach, and has shown her work at the San Francisco Gem and Mineral Society annual shows.