Michelle Hoting Jewelry Artist

My work is shaped by a lifelong connection to nature, movement, and the quiet poetry of the outdoors. Inspired by flowing water, curling waves, and wind-carved slot canyons, I design and hand-fabricate jewelry that captures a sense of motion, balance, and dimensionality. Through wax and metal, I aim to echo fleeting natural moments—expressed with a stylish, timeless sensibility that renders the beauty and sense of wonder of the natural world into something personal, tactile, and wearable.

Jewelry has always felt like a calling. My grandfather founded the Corpus Christi Gem and Mineral Society, and some of my earliest memories are of hearing stories about him and my mother rockhounding on the King Ranch in Texas. Those experiences sparked a deep love for stones that continues today. I often cut and incorporate agates and other materials passed down from my grandfather, honoring both their natural character and the family history they hold.

That passion took clear direction in 1991 while I was studying Fine Arts and Geology at The University of Texas at Austin. A recommendation from my gemology professor led to a part-time position in a jewelry store, where watching master bench jewelers at work proved transformative. Whenever possible, I apprenticed at the bench, deepening my technical skills and commitment to the craft.

Over the years, my career has spanned many facets of the jewelry world—from managing repair departments at prominent antique jewelry stores to studying diamond grading, colored stones, and pearls through the Gemological Institute of America. I’ve worked as a jeweler and salesperson for Cartier and managed a Bulgari boutique, experiences that refined my eye for craftsmanship, precision, and timeless design.

In 2012, I moved to Santa Rosa, California, where I now work independently, creating jewelry that reflects a lifetime shaped by art, geology, and nature. Each piece is an expression of that journey—thoughtful, sculptural, and rooted in the enduring elegance of the natural world.