Born on the South side of Chicago in the Marquette Park
neighborhood, her parents and family members all encouraged her early
interest in art. Their leisure activities tended to the creative and
adventurous. Her mother spent many hours with her volunteer work as
a journalist and creative writer for her church and hospital. She also
performed as a fortuneteller at many successful fundraisers for the
local charity events. Her aunt was an oil painter artist that did
enhancement for photographers. Her father spent his rare leisure time
exposing her to the exciting experiences camping and fishing in the
forests of northern Indiana and his homeland roots of Southern Illinois .
She saw and experienced things an ordinary Chicago city child would
have not, because of their interest in writing, acting, painting, and
nature.
As a young high school student, Ms. Rosenquist began her
serious art training when she was accepted at the Junior School of
Chicago’s famed Art Institute. Upon graduation, she attended the
Chicago Art Institute in conjunction with studies at the University of
Chicago . In 1973, she moved from Chicago to New Mexico , where she
was hired as an apprentice by Cindy Paulson, a silversmith and master
jeweler. Ms. Paulson taught her the method of metalworking know as
fabrication with the unique art of creating jewelry using primitive tools
and age -old techniques passed down through generations of Navajo
craftsmen.This is a very rare but ancient method of forming intricate
work in metal.
Her silver and gold works are formed by cutting out shapes of
precious metal and wire. Each element of the design is uniquely
connected. Unlike the common method of casting and molding, which
results in identical products of manufactured jewelry, every piece of
her jewelry is truly an original and is not duplicated. Her work is the
essence of handcrafting. When you see her work, you are looking at a
one of a kind, and a true original. And when you have a rare piece of
her jewelry, you have something that no one else has, it is yours, and
yours alone, and you will never see another piece just like it. It is
yours, alone.
Each piece is handcrafted with serious attention to detail,
resulting in no two pieces precisely alike, making each product a unique
piece of art. Very unlike the commercial stamped and cast production
silver that all looks alike,, she touches each piece with the fine hand of
an artist, and works it to perfection. In Ms. Rosenquist’s jewelry, you
will see her inspiration coming from her environment. Leaves and
tendrils intertwine in perfect harmony. Excitement is added with jewel
colored stones, both precious and semi-precious. Her home and her
studio/workshop sits atop a high point in the Ozarks, north of Calico
Rock, Arkansas . . Surrounded by the lush vegetation and halcyon
sunsets so remarkable in the Ozarks, she draws her designs from the
bucolic pleasure of living and working in a pristine and organic
environment.
Her work appears classic in design, almost Victorian. At first glance
you will see graceful leaves, tendrils and perhaps a whimsical flower.
But look more closely and deeply into the design. You can see the
wildness that exists in nature, the chaos that forms the elegant final
work. She gathers the strength of her design by placing it on the
foundation of nature. It survives as a thing of beauty for you to
behold. She shares this with you, and hopes that through her work and
your appreciation of it we will all weather our storms and see the
shining light of peace reflected in her silverwork