Miles Standish

Miles Standish who is a descendant of the Standish of early American history, draws his inspirations from observing the natural world; the shapes of clouds, the curve of a leaf, the spread of a bird's wing, the texture and pattern on a beach shell. He likens his efforts to those of any artist, whether it be the cave painters of pre-historic times or the first jeweler who bored a hole in a rock and strung it on a piece of sinew to wear around his neck.

Born the son of an artist and a jazz musician in Kalamazoo, Michigan, Miles was encouraged in every artistic endeavor he attempted. He can still recall the pattern of the linoleum in the kitchen of his boyhood home where he lay tracing designs on butcher's paper.

Hitchhiking at the age of 20 in Arizona, he discovered the town of Jerome where he was first introduced to silversmithing. "I sometimes feel as though silver chose me; I did not choose it,' Miles says. Since then he has been fascinated with gems and minerals.

The father of two grown daughters, Miles Standish lives in northern New Mexico with his wife Claudia.