About the Artist

This Mississippi-born Florida-grown girl knows all about southern charm. A retired Art teacher with a Master’s degree in Christian counselling, she has a heart for understanding the little things that make us what we are and how our past is so significant and meaningful to us. With her love of all the graciousness of southern hospitality, and the sweet memories of these events, she offers a way to have a “peace of your past” with her beautiful china jewelry.

The precious moments captured around a family table eating off of grandmother’s special plates and now YOU are the keeper of these precious collections of china. Let Tina create keepsake heirloom jewelry from just one of grandmother’s beautiful china plates. It becomes her joy to be a part of preserving your family’s history in such a special way. It is a reciprocal blessing!

Craftsmanship of Pieces Past

My medium is fine porcelain china and vintage silverware. The creation of my jewelry begins with selecting unique, and unusual, designs drawn from some of the finest china and silver patterns. I evaluate each pattern, then roughly cut at precise points so each finished piece will reflect the hidden art of the china pattern. Porcelain cabochons are cut to various sizes using diamond band saws and drills. Diamond grinders and polishers bevel and finish the raw edges before they are framed in silver or gold findings. Some of these single layer china cameos are paired with the previously cut and polished silver components, according to how they compliment each other. The results of my work create a beautiful, finished, and sometimes, one of a kind cabochon used in the creation of necklaces, anklets, brooches, and bracelets.

My same tools and artistry are combined with silversmithing skills to create the hearts and crosses. The selected spoon handles are paired, cut diagonally, ground, polished, and soldered, to produce the heart and cross pendants.

My creations offer a very special way to preserve the beauty, heritage, and memories, we attach to fine china and silver patterns. Clients have a unique opportunity to commission my work using their family china or bridal china patterns

A Family Business

Pieces Past is a family business, a team working together crafting timeless heirloom pieces. My daughters, Jana and Jamie, are an important part of the Pieces Past company.

My husband, father, daughters, and grandchildren are all inspiration to me when creating my pieces.

Heart of Pieces Past

I have, personally, witnessed so many expressions on people's faces as they are drawn to the display of amazingly beautiful pendants hanging on broken china plates, the theme being Beauty out of Brokenness, by Tina & Jay Goolsby.

Many customers place special orders from their own china to lovingly pass on to daughters, daughters-in-law, sisters etc.

There is one event that deeply touched me. It took place at my location in the Gainesville Art Show this October. A young lady came under the tent with a look of great amazement on her face. Her grandmother had recently given this young lady her personal china. The young lady was so excited to find a plate matching her grandmother's china on the display. She purchased the elegant pendant matching the plate to give to her grandmother. Now, her dear grandmother has her own china pattern as a gifted keepsake with the message of love. A tangible way the granddaughter treasures her china. I thought of my own dear aunt whose china is displayed in my china cabinet and used at holiday dinners. I am so thankful for the connection and the memories that come from its elegant beauty. How precious it would have been if I could have given her a pendant made from her china when she gave me all of hers.

How Pieces Past Began

I remember the special occasions at my grandmother’s table. The table set so beautifully with her china was a gathering place of my family. The delicate pastel rose pattern mirrored the sweetness and comfort of these occasions.

As a child, I knew how special and fragile my grandmother’s china was. As an adult, I realize the same thing about my family. Through the years, we have all experienced the stress of life and many for our families are broken and scattered; but each of us has a memory or person that we hold dear as a place of refuge.

Now, as I stand here looking at my grandmother’s china, even though it’s not complete because of brokenness or loss, the memories come flooding back of my family’s heritage. These precious pieces o the past are my treasure and refuge.

As an artist I have found the golden thread that can bind together treasured family china in a delicate piece of jewelry. I call my creations “pieces past”. They capture in a keepsake pendant all the things you hold dear as you enjoy your china in a different way. Just like God can redeems our own brokenness and re-purpose each of us.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation: old things have passed away:

behold, all things have become new.”

I Corinthians 5:17