So I think I have some deeper/better answers to why I'm making what I am this semester, as well as possibly some insight into my work in general.
A couple nights ago I had an aha! moment where I realized that the pieces so far are really about protection. The talon forms sticking outwards from the body, repelling anyone from getting close; the bone/aorta structures forming an exoskelton of sorts.... see where this is going?
Also in reading Mind and Mentality there was a section talking about jewelry that is purposefully uncomfortable to wear. Which got me thinking about these pieces and with some of them latching into the skin, or even having the appearance of doing so also brings up self-destructive (mutilation) issues as well.
So this realization isn't making me particularly thrilled, but I'm looking back on a lot of the forms I work with in general and seeing that protective idea reoccur. Even the pod shapes that deal with enclosure I tend to position so that they aren't totally open to the outside world- the gem or secret is for the wearer.
Not sure what this means or is leading to, but there it is.