Portfolio > Subjugatus

Sewing has been a creative outlet of mine since childhood. Between my mother and my grandmother, I learned cross stitch, embroidery, and crochet, as well as how to operate a sewing machine. Now as a metalsmith, I enjoy the challenge of combining textiles with metals in a way that is balanced and gives traditional women’s craft a voice in contemporary mixed media sculpture.

Through the collar, my current work demonstrates the complex identity of woman as both oppressed and empowered. While feminist activism and social awareness have been instrumental in the advancement of an egalitarian society, the persistence of a patriarchal mindset that clouds views on women still exists today. By binding soft fabric with wire into either protruding or constricting forms, sometimes both, my work becomes a metaphor for subjugation. Integral to the work are the dichotomies of hard and soft, seduction and repulsion, protection and intimidation. This complexity parallels the multi-faceted aspect of the female experience.

The literal translation for the Latin word subjugatus is “under the yoke.”
The question that remains for the viewer is whether the wearer of the collar is in control-- or under it.

mourning jewelry, lazzarine, kumo shibori, neckpiece, gothic jewelry
kumo shibori cotton, nickel, steel, glass beads
20 x 22 x 2”
2012
cameo, kumo shibori, lazzarine, copper, collar
Kumo shibori cotton, copper, cameo
1.25 x 13.5 x 13”
2011
black widow, femme fatale, spider jewelry, lazzarine, kumo shibori, neckpiece, painted enamel
Kumo shibori cotton, copper, enamel
16 x 14 x 14”
2013
braided, lazzarine, kumo shibori, collar
Copper, kumo shibori cotton
49 x 6 x 6”
2013
kumo shibori, neckpiece, padaung, french knots, embroidery, women's craft, lazzarine
Kumo shibori cotton, brass, copper, enamel, thread, lock
4 x 5 x 5"
2013
wedding veil, feminist art, lazzarine, sculpture for the body
Organza, thread, glass pearls, kumo shibori silk, nickel, velvet, brass, padlock
18 x 12 x 12”
2013
neck corset, anticlastic, lazzarine, kumo shibori, neckpiece
Copper, kumo shibori cotton, brass, leather
3.5 x 8 x 11.5"
2013
medusa, kumo shibori, lazzarine,elizabethan, neckpiece, collar, fiber art
kumo shibori silk, brass, steel, copper, microfiber,silk organza, thread,
27" x 12" x 18"
2013