Emotional Abuse: All I'm Allowed to Say

This is a video of the piece Emotional Abuse: All I'm Allowed to Say.  The voice module has a recording of my voice, saying "I am wrong, you are right."  The piece signifies the only possible answer an abuser will accept in an emotionally abusive relationship.

I received Best in Show for this piece and another (Emotional Abuse: Conditional Speaking) at the Art Against Violence show at UTPA!  A big thanks to my boyfriend for helping with the video and the use of his hands to press the button.

Exploring Gender through the Creative Arts

My Sperm and Ovum Necklaces were recently featured in a show titled "Exploring Gender through the Creative Arts" at UTPA, where my piece won second place!  The show had a wonderful turn out, and it was diverse with submissions: there were examples of painting, drawing, poetry, jewelry, and collage.  The exhibit's purpose is to highlight gender discrimination and empowerment, while giving attention to the Gender and Women's Studies program at UTPA.  A link to the article is below:

http://www.utpa.edu/news/index.cfm?newsid=4734&utm_source=broncnotes&utm_medium=email&utm_content=4734&utm_campaign=broncnotes-students

The Body Adorned

SNAG's premier online exhibition, The Body Adorned, is up and live!  About "adornment as experience," there are many beautiful and powerful pieces that made it into the exhibit.  I feel glad and fortunate to be a part of it, so go check out all the wearable art!  The link to the exhibit is below:

http://exhibitions.snagmetalsmith.org/bodyadorned/#./intro?&_suid=1349547210809031688451498758596

Sperm!

I am in the process of creating a new sperm necklace!  I am expanding my series on sperm and ovum as wearable art objects.  The orginal sperm and ovum necklaces are about role reversal between the sexes in a mondern day society, taken down to the biological level.  These are about an appreciation for the physiological process, as well as a celebration of what defines a male and female. 

Now I am playing with how the new neck pieces will be better and more aesthetically pleasing.  I 3-D modeled the sperm and printed them in ABS plastic.  Figuring out how they lay and sit on an individual's neck is time consuming, but the designs I can be fun!  I love the reaction I get from different people when they see them, sometimes they are taken aback, but most times people think they are fun.

Emotional Abuse: Speech Constriction

Last year I entered a call for entries for the Society of North American Goldsmiths "The Body Adorned," and I was fortunate to be chosen for their first ever online exhibition.  I was very excited to when I found out, because I had never been in a national exhibition yet.  The theme centered on “adornment as experience” on the landscape of the body, and images of pieces on the models. 

Coinciding with the opening next week, I'll do a little background on my series about emotional abuse.  The first piece in the series is titled "Speech Constriction."  It is designed for the abuser to use on the abused, as a form of control.  Emotional abuse occurs between partners, siblings, parents, step-parents, "friends" . . .  It can happen to anyone, not just a significant other, and the purpose of my pieces on the subject is to raise awareness about it.