My work focuses on storytelling as wearable art. Let's have a look at this piece and explore what each element really means:
This piece features on personal aspects of my life translated into symbols.
- Doves representing peace
- Vintage jewellery and sunglasses for sustainability and circularity
- Foraging for mushrooms with my children in the forest
- Teal blue as a both a nod to the sky as I live in the UK and miss seeing it and to the ocean (I am originally from Southern California)
- Butterflies for change, growth, and evolution. We must respect both the balance with each other and nature.
- Flowers represent women, from peaceful resistence to war and atrocities committed against us. As Pablo Neruda says, “You can cut all the flowers, but you cannot keep spring from coming.” They are an anthem of hope and peace.
- The handbag is a feminist reclamation of the purse. We always hold ‘things’ -- everyone’s hopes, dreams, snacks -- everything. We carry it all, from the family to the possibility of peace. I make it look beautiful and subversive at the same time.
- Celestial elements remind me to live a purpose and values-driven life, to make a difference and a positive impact on both humans and planet. I believe that we are derived from stars and will return there. I think we take the peace we have for granted, so my art features our natural world prominently.
- Books are for learning, for challenging our preconceived notions, and for keeping an open mind to new ideas
I have also transformed my artwork into sustainably printed silk and into a wearable piece of art, below. The silk is sustainably printed in the north of England and the piece was hand sewn by Felicity Westmacott and designed by me. What what would you have me create for you? What story would you tell?
