THINGS AREN'T
ALWAYS WHAT
THEY SEEM.

This is to say that things are not always capable of maintaining their original physical form and purpose forever. These things are often thrown away when they no longer serve their intended purpose, when we've outgrown them, when there's an imperfection, a chip, a crack, a tear, a dent, when there's a missing piece.

THINGS CHANGE.

When the physical properties of a thing change dramatically, its purpose changes too. A thing breaks and becomes a broken thing. And that broken thing becomes trash, abandoned, unloved, destined for a life in the landfill. Usually. A broken thing may seem like trash but it doesn't have to be.

THINGS AREN'T
ALWAYS WHAT
THEY SEEM

BECAUSE

THINGS CHANGE.

Letting go of the expectation that things should always be exactly what they used to be and serve the same purpose forever opens the possibility for a broken thing in its changed state to become something entirely new. With an attention towards objects, not as they were intended to be but as they are now, it is possible to dream up a different reality for the discarded, to decide that decay and destruction deserve to be displayed.

BEAUTY

THERE IS

IN THE

BROKEN

Being broken is not necessarily bad. If brokenness is simply a quality of things that have changed then perhaps brokenness can bring forth new beginnings.
To see things as they are through the lens of what they could be is to live in a wonderful, wonder-full world. It is a hopeful reminder that it is possible to break free, to begin again, to start over, to build something new from what remains of the old, to envision a new life.

liberated from expectation

and therefore full

That which is broken is

OF possibility

BREAKinG

FREE

Gabriella Montez and Troy Bolton (yep we're going there) sang it best in the iconic "High School Musical" ballad "Breaking Free." They acknowledge the trapped feeling that ensues when faced with the expectations that result from internalizing an external pressure to fill a certain role, "You know the world can see us in a way that's different than who we are." When the dissonance caused by conflicting external perception and internal potential becomes too overwhelming, a breaking point is reached.

The Make Or Break Moment

But why not have both? It is possible to break and then make the best of it, to grow, to be resilient, to transform. The act of breaking free allows for the defiance of expectation and convention in favor of pursuing the potential within and possibly fulfilling a higher purpose. Breaking free allows us the space to break out of our comfort zone, to experience a breakthrough, "to be all that we can be." This is the promise of hope.

TRANSFORMING
TOYS + TRINKETS + TRASH
INTO WEARABLE TREASURES

Transformation is at the core of my artistic practice and an important philosophy of my personal art of living.
Change is the only constant in life.

My earrings are infused with youth. My long lost playthings, forgotten fragments of a childhood played out, live and play again as art. They are treasures steeped in memory, soaked in love and attention and time. They are what remains of my past: the good and the grieving and the growing.

These objects have already lived a full life. They have lived in my home. They've lived with me through innocent, playful moments, the wonder and curiosity of my childhood, the laughter, the terror of time passing, the warm sting of looking back. I have held them tenderly in my hands then and now. They have watched me grow up and grow into myself.

And I have grown out of them. But they were never thrown out. Change is the only constant in life but that doesn't make letting go any easier. I can't throw away the past. I can't take back the time. All I have is now. All I can do is change. I break. I grow. I heal. I make.

I wear my memories.

Wear a piece of my past as you walk into your future.