LINDA STARLING

Born in Cincinnati, Ohio and raised in Summit, New Jersey, I attended college at Lynchburg College in Lynchburg, VA where I earned BS in Elementary Education. After teaching for seven years in Virginia and after a move to California, I earned a certification in special education at San Diego State. Having taking some breaks from teaching while having two sons, I continued my teaching career in CA and MD for a total of 23 years before retiring in 2007. 

Moving to Cambridge in 2007, I now work part-time as the volunteer coordinator with The Horn Point Laboratory – University of MD Center for Environmental Science. 

Self-taught and inspired by a simple beaded bracelet given to me by a friend, I’ve been making beaded jewelry for 17 years. I have experimented with drilling and shaping silver into bails. I am still learning and just beginning to expand my knowledge into soldering and shaping metal. 

I work in silver, beads of all kinds and sea glass. My works are inspired by the colors and history of sea glass. They are discarded remnants with former lives, infused with whispers of the last owner to hold that glass or bottle, witness to countless conversations and human interactions of generations gone by. Now, gently eroded by time and nature to their present form and re-crafted into unique custom designs for everyday wear. 

The Chesapeake Bay, by accident and disregard, has engulfed untold numbers of glass bottles, glassware and pottery. One of the last remaining stretches of beach on Hoopers Island lies near our cottage and is among my frequent haunts. With every item retrieved I can’t help but wonder, “Who held this last?? How long has it been tossing along the seabed? For what was it used? What ship did it fall from? Was the sailor celebrating, cursing an annoying seagull, or just tipsy?” 

My jewelry has been displayed in Main Street Gallery and the Dorchester Center for the Arts in Cambridge MD as well as West Annapolis Frame and Art and Quiet Waters in Annapolis MD.