Artist Statement

As an addendum onto the pics from final crit, I wanted to post up the text of the Artist Statement that we each wrote that helps to give the backstory and context to the work we're producing. Grad school(as I see it) is not just about the physical objects, but also about the underlying context, intent, and meaning. I heaven't read this since I wrote it, so I can almost guarantee that it needs much work, but it's a start.

The work that I did last semester, with its relationship to the body and the unconventional way in which it was designed to be worn, was the starting place for my work this semester. I wanted to tie the forms that I was using to the body in a less generalized way. I began to look at anatomical references, as I was curious as to how imagery of the body on a microscopic scale could be used to form the decorative language for my work. I'm interested in the idea of removing the concept of jewelry from it's traditional forms of ring, necklace, etc., and displaying the work where it seems most appropriate on the body.
The idea of body as site combined with body as visual language formed the basis for the work this semester. I also took a more medical and science-based approached to my imagery. Instead of creating forms that go with the body as I see it, I took imagery from scientific photography and then reworked aspects of those images in to three-dimensional forms. I then reworked and reinterpreted those forms to abstract them further from their original site. For example, I took the form of alveoli lung sacs and created a vac-u-form mold. I then cast plastic into that mold, cut the plastic casting into slices, then pierced them out so that they had a lighter and more cellular appearance bringing the sliced form closer to the original physiological form. I am interested in taking the visual language of interior anatomy and using that as exterior ornamentation of the body. Microscopic imagery of the body has a real beauty to it in the visceral quality as well as the patterning created by the body's structure. By combining this language with nontraditional material choices, I am attempting to augment and expose the interior of the body as ornamental.
I am also interested in the way the jewelry is worn. Any object placed on the body develops a relationship with the body and the wearer. Not just from a site perspective, but also from the interaction or restriction on movement that is created by choosing to wear that piece. This can be behavioral, direct or abstract, or purely physical; but the way that we change what we do simply due to what we are wearing is fascinating to me. Not only are we choosing to limit or augment ourselves by what we adorn our bodies with, but we are also deciding to portray a facade or a specific portion of who we are. Making those choices affects how those around us interact with us as well. By tying this back into that anatomical references we are making choices about ourselves and what is inside of us in a direct way.