about the artist

Howdy. I'm Cali, self-taught metalsmith and the woman behind the mischief at Oxbow Charlie. The pup to my left is Blue -- part Bernese/part cheese enthusiast.

When I began this work in 2020 in my parent's backyard gardening shed, I came up with the name Ember Canyon--chasing that feeling I felt on the river in my everyday life. Working with metal + stones was the closest thing to it. A feeling of choosing whichever path I wanted and creating with no agenda. The name served me well, it grew with me through moves and new studio's, and took the step with me to be a full time metalsmith. In 2024 it simply became time to grow. Into another name, a new path, and retire Ember Canyon. There was not so much a reason for this, but a feeling. Oxbow Charlie is a combination of my love for the wild rivers that formed me, and the family that nurtured me. An oxbow is a U shaped bend in a river, a place I have been many times and a beautiful example of what nature can create. And Charlie was my grandfather's name. He, along with my grandmother and parents, are what led me to metalsmithing -- all of them incredibly creative creatures who let me play in the dirt and fidget in their jewelry collections from a young age. So the new name is an ode to all of them, the people + places I love.

Other hobbies include snagging river permits, road tripping with Blue + my partner, and re-watching the stories of Middle Earth. Each piece is made in my small studio in the Black Hills of South Dakota, but inspired by the colorful places I've grown + learned.

My jewelry is intentional, one of a kind, and slow made. Influenced by winding rivers and dusty mesa's, deep-rooted plants and all-legged creatures, art and song. My aspiration is not to create 'perfect' pieces, but rather gritty and uninhibited work, that shows the scars of a handmade item -- just like we all show scars of lives lived. They are free spirits, uncommon and wild -- made for fellow sentimentalists. 

Welcome, and thanks for being here. ✷