Claudia Amling-MacFarland, a Santa Cruz Open Studio artist, was born in Germany, near Munich. Growing up, she always had an interest in the Arts (and crafting generally), and had nearly ended up a jewelry maker at a young age, but instead, at her dad’s urging, was told to get a “real job” and started as an apprentice optician (a kind of crafters education in itself). Years later, after returning to university for her marketing/design degree, Claudia worked in marketing and advertising with several German new media companies. In 2002 Claudia moved to the USA, to Santa Fe, NM, where she married. While in Santa Fe she rediscovered her love of the Arts and started dabbling again with painting and crafting. In 2003 she moved to Santa Cruz, finding an accepting and thriving art scene. It was in Santa Cruz, during the Open Studio Art Tour that she was introduced to art made from PMC (precious metal clay). After months of workshops with local and artists and research into the various aspects of creating jewelry, she found her passion: creating one-of-a-kind jewelry using Precious Metal Clay. Now, after 5 years of designing and making her unique jewelry, Claudia’s work is available in local stores, galleries, boutiques, and now online. Claudia lives a busy life juggling family (2 little boys), home life, and staying in touch with her family still in Germany. But she always finds the time to create, dream and think….