Meet Jill Moring | Structural Chemist and Jewelry Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jill Moring and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jill, where are your from? We’d love to hear about how your background has played a role in who you are today?
I’m from Toledo, Ohio. I spent my earliest childhood days on a farm and visited there often later. The feeling of freedom to go outdoors and explore the woods and fields fueled an interest in nature and science. My father, an engineer, made sure my brother and I were involved in science. This included 6:00 am bird walks, making an insect collection, and various other science projects.
Toledo has an excellent small art museum that provided classes for children and adults. My parents recruited my friends and relatives to attend (their parents could share the driving), so that we got to try drawing, painting, collage, mixed media, sculpture – I loved the experience and have enjoyed art for a lifetime.
I was a biochemistry major at Smith College. I tried to get a job back in Toledo, but could not in the short time I had available. In one case, I was told “We don’t hire women for jobs like that.” They could say that back in 1965. So I took a job in a laboratory at Yale. After getting married, staying home with the kids, learning to make silver jewelry, and getting an MS in chemistry at Southern Conn. State College, I got a divorce and then a PhD in chemistry at UConn. I remarried and worked at UConn until we moved to Pueblo in 1999, where I started artwork again in earnest – botanical illustration, watercolor, beadwork, and silver jewelry. I’ve been a member of Steel City Art Works since its beginning.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
First I need to say a bit about chemistry. My specialty was crystal growth and structure, so I was an x-ray diffraction specialist. I did a post-doc in protein crystallography and finally landed at the UConn medical school, where I was part of a group working on the basic science area of alcoholism.
Now about the jewelry art. I first took some jewelry classes back in the 1970’s at Southern Conn. State College (now University), where I learned the basics and then some – soldering, casting, forging, raising and so on, Then I went back into science, and did little artwork until I retired with my husband at 55 and moved to Pueblo. I started with a certificate from the Botanical Illustration program at the Denver Botanic Gardens. I also did silk and metal thread embroidery and beadwork, too. Then I joined Steel City Art Works in Pueblo. When I got breast cancer, I decided that I would do what I really wanted to do, which was make silver jewelry. I took some refresher classes with Kathy Pritchett in Denver, then more at Pueblo Community College. All the while I was creating a studio and an art library in my basement. I now make my jewelry there and display it at Steel City Art Works. By the way, I painted, with the help of my husband and the folks at the steel mill, a design on a locomotive that reproduced a beautiful bicentennial design. It’s a gorgeous locomotive that can be seen at the Pueblo Railway Museum.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I live in Pueblo West, so I would take them to Liberty Point for the beautiful view of Lake Pueblo and an overview of the area.
For places to eat: 3 Margaritas in Pueblo West and Papa Jose’s for Mexican, La Forchetta for Italian, Mr. Tandoori for Indian, and Puukaow Thai. For art, the Sangre de Cristo Art Center, the Union Avenue galleries including Steel City Art Works, of course, and the Pueblo Art Guild in Mineral Palace Park.
Mineral Palace Park, with its lovely flowers, is a great place to relax, take a walk, have a picnic, or just sit and talk. There also are food trucks on Fridays.
They should see the Pueblo Railway Museum for the Patriot (the locomotive we painted the design on), the 2912 steam locomotive, the other railcars on display, and of course the Union Depot with its marker of the 1921 flood. The old County Courthouse has an informative display of pictures of the flood.
The Aircraft Museum, with its B29 bomber, A10, and STEM lab (run by my husband, Cork Hayden), is essential.
And last but not least, there’s a boat ride on the riverwalk.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
First, my parents. They always supported me, worked hard and sacrificed to foster my interests in art and science and make sure I got a good education.
Second, the Toledo Museum of Art. I love that place! The art classes were in the basement, so after class we were free to roam the exhibits and enjoy the art. Many classes took us upstairs to the galleries, where we drew pictures of the artwork after hearing about its origins and history. It was a great art education.
Third, Mr. McCabe, who taught chemistry and physics, and Mr. Morgan, who taught English, at Clay High in Oregon, Ohio. They gave me the foundations I needed to succeed in college. I found that I was better prepared than many of my fellow freshmen – I didn’t need to take any remedial classes despite having gone to a rather small public high school.
There are many more who helped. I don’t mean to neglect anyone – my grandparents, my aunt Elda, lots of other teachers and professors.

Image Credits
David Hayden for the Bracelet and the Three Pears necklace, Howard “Cork” Hayden for the other two photos.