The titles of her pieces are poetic as well, including "It is the Empty Space Within That Makes it Useful", "The Seed, The Egg, The Flight", "The Moon's Reflection In the Water is Just a Reflection" — clues to interpret the ideas behind the well thought designs. So perhaps it is no surprise that jewelry artist Michelle Sabol of Washington, PA, whose business name is Memphis George, has a multi-disciplinary arts background. She is a published poet with years of experience in directing avant-garde films in California, acting and theatre production, and painting. This background informs her endless ability to create new jewelry designs.

"I am continually ingesting things," says Sabol, remarking on her manifold interests. She finds inspiration in organic shapes and in Zen Buddhism. "I try to not think at all while I am working. I try to be spontaneous and in the moment, so I am not regurgitating ideas I've seen elsewhere or redoing ideas. I always want to be new and original."

Michelle Sabol got her start as a jewelry artist while working as a stylist for Guess? in Los Angeles. She was shooting a line for their web site. Another stylist that she worked with enjoyed making prayer bracelets and took Michelle with her to Los Angeles' jewelry district one weekend. "I was immediately sucked in," she recalls. Within a couple of months Sabol was bringing her own jewelry to boutiques. "It all happened very fast."

The spectrum of her jewelry reflects how dynamic an artist she is. While there is a seriousness and delicate touch to the swooping rain cloud necklace and the cherry blossom, other designs are as playful and colorful as candy. There is a mix of the abstract and the figurative — a tree pin sits alongside a necklace resembling just the curves of a bird in flight. Her designs are very contemporary and have been modeled at art fashion shows.

Michelle Sabol works out of her home studio in Washington, PA. She has been an exhibitor in the Three Rivers Arts Festival's Duquesne Light Artists Market for the past seven summers. Her work can be seen in galleries and select boutiques across the country, fine art and fine craft festivals, and on her web site, memphisgeorge.com.