Working Artist Statement, '14
In our busy day and age, where our emotions undergo changes as often as our settings do, we lose touch with what makes us strong, alert, powerful and driven. Adaptation keeps us going, layering skin upon skin, making it harder to ground oneself and become renewed, self–assured, and emotionally honest. My senior degree work is about taking a moment to stop and listen.
The Hindu and tantric tradition of the Chakra system, explains the existence of a subtle body, where energy flows and meets in seven main centers along our physical body. The Solar Plexus Chakra, “Manipura”, literally translated as ‘jewel city’, is found around the abdomen. It channels key issues of personal power, self–acceptance, and self–worth as well as fear and anxiety. This area is commonly known for getting ‘butterflies’ or ‘knots’, indicating the energy reacting in our subtle body.
The use of fabric in my work serves as a tool to invite, and engage. The work depends on a participant to activate them: some objects turn into wearable pendants, while the others require you to try on the garment, and some just require mindful touch. The physical and visual weight of the work goes beyond the scope of jewelry to encompass larger landscapes of the body. When touched or worn, the person becomes reminded of their Solar Plexus, acknowledging the body and becoming self–aware. The experience becomes intimate, ethereal, and at times confrontational. The hope is for the wearer to become a guardian and protector of the piece to make a statement about themselves, to themselves, rather than to a public.
In our busy day and age, where our emotions undergo changes as often as our settings do, we lose touch with what makes us strong, alert, powerful and driven. Adaptation keeps us going, layering skin upon skin, making it harder to ground oneself and become renewed, self–assured, and emotionally honest. My senior degree work is about taking a moment to stop and listen.
The Hindu and tantric tradition of the Chakra system, explains the existence of a subtle body, where energy flows and meets in seven main centers along our physical body. The Solar Plexus Chakra, “Manipura”, literally translated as ‘jewel city’, is found around the abdomen. It channels key issues of personal power, self–acceptance, and self–worth as well as fear and anxiety. This area is commonly known for getting ‘butterflies’ or ‘knots’, indicating the energy reacting in our subtle body.
The use of fabric in my work serves as a tool to invite, and engage. The work depends on a participant to activate them: some objects turn into wearable pendants, while the others require you to try on the garment, and some just require mindful touch. The physical and visual weight of the work goes beyond the scope of jewelry to encompass larger landscapes of the body. When touched or worn, the person becomes reminded of their Solar Plexus, acknowledging the body and becoming self–aware. The experience becomes intimate, ethereal, and at times confrontational. The hope is for the wearer to become a guardian and protector of the piece to make a statement about themselves, to themselves, rather than to a public.
Photography credit: Rachel Chiodo.
Gesture 1: object
Gesture 1: activation
Gesture 1: worn
Gesture 2: activation
Gesture 2, in motion
Ruffle Sac: Object
Ruffle Sac: worn
Soft Sac: object
Soft Sac: activation
Soft Sac: worn
Solar Plexus Shirt with hole and attached filter pendant
Pocketed shirt with weight
Hem crop shirt with weight
This work was presented in December 2014, to be reevaluated for the Spring term 2015 and displayed at the Woods Gerry Gallery Graduating Jewelry and Metalsmithing show in Providence, RI in May 2015.
