Seeing Stars, 2019

Installation of sterling silver brooches and earrings. Blue circle 5 x 5 feet.
Below: Scorpio, The Big Dipper, Leo, Virgo, installation view, and Gemini.

For as long as humans have been wandering they earth they have been looking up to the sky for answers. The clusters of bright stars that appear as shapes amidst the specks are like gifts given just to us to help us make sense of a world and cosmos so vast and incomprehensible. Most often representing animals, a mythological person or creature, or a god, constellations have been used throughout time to tell stories of creation and belief, and to help us physically navigate. Charm bracelets function similarly. As we collect charms that symbolize experiences or rites of passage, the charm bracelet stands in as a personal timeline—again, helping us make sense of something as abstract and esoteric as the meaning of life. Seeing Stars plays with the format of charm bracelets to make wearable versions of constellations. These miniature maps of the universe that are like personal compasses that connect us to the past and orientate us in the present.