“Every day that I get to live this life and create art is a victory worth celebrating.”

Sure, nature inspires Sue Beatrice’s designs, but it’s man-made creations that really turn her gears. The artist, who has worked for everyone from The Franklin Mint to Disney over three decades, seeks to explore what she calls “the spiritual connection between time and mortality” when creating wearable sculptures from former watch parts. (“I never destroy a watch that works!” she shares.) As she creates new heirlooms from old, she finds herself “thinking about the lives of the people who once owned the timepieces”—a process that helped her evaluate her life goals. Her products hold power over others, too: “Several people have burst into happy tears when seeing custom pieces designed just for them,” she says. “It's an amazing feeling to know your art has touched someone's heart like that.”

Take a Studio Tour to see where Sue creates her tiny, wearable sculptures!