Make Your Way Home
The product of a collaborative investigation between myself and metalsmith Ashley Gilreath, the pieces in this ongoing series are based on the overlaps in our two lines of creative inquiry. Ranging from jewelry made in precious metals and enamel, to sculptures constructed from reclaimed wood and rusty steel, the artworks center around the ideas of memory, locational identity,and lineage. Pouring over our two collections of family photographs and memorabilia, we are working to point out parallels, elevate poignant details, and collage interesting overlaps. We have chosen to focus on the architecture of our families’ historical spaces, the objects held within, and the plants passed from one generation to the next. Much like these plant cuttings, we are each adaptable but have necessary conditions that must be met in order to thrive as we take root in new surroundings.
Our design process for this series de-centers individuals and specific stories, and focuses on the backdrop of our family histories. Sharing source material and sketches, we work to flatten and simplify imagery, isolate shapes, and play with perspective. Tracing, re-drawing, and trading imagery back and forth is akin to the process of recreating a memory. With time memories shift, compress, flatten, and experiences are condensed. The texture of our lives smooth over, creating the silhouette of a life lived, or a family's history. By collaging imagery together, we hope to design pieces that feel simultaneously familiar, unsettling, and sentimental.
