Let's Get Naked
After creating the Olive drops last spring, I secured the same beads in a beige color and immediately thought of a line of light catchers for the summer called- The Nude Drops. The collection title made my brain explode with ideas around summer, our bodies, exposing more of ourselves, and all of this just comes back to the idea of feeling free, for me.
I am finding that working in collections makes the most sense for me as an emerging artist. It's most likely the theatre artist in me, thinking in seasons, themes, objectives and so on. In considering the themes around nudity and nakedness, it was quickly obvious to me that the collection couldn't be called The Nude Drops, unless it truly represented nude for all.
Truthfully, when I first eyed the beads, I called them nude- as if nude was a color, and quickly checked me and my whiteness over the romanticized collection I first dreamed of- a palette of beiges, creams, tans and pinks.
As a decent human being in the world, and especially as an artist, it's important that my work reflects my truest values and the core of who I am. Isn't that scary? It's the toughest part about being human and also the simplest if we could let go of all the messy shit around us. Some of us have the privilege to let it go while others do not.
I acknowledge that my coming back to the ideas of freedom within my life, the themes of highsummer, albeit important to me, do not compare to the inequities we see in our legal system, our prison system, our education system, our healthcare system, and those are just the heavy hitters to start. If I am going to create a line of home accents, honoring the ideals around mindfulness, peace, and empathy, then my work must be inclusive and diverse.
The vintage beads selected for this collection were chosen to represent nude for all. Each of the vintage beads includes etchings and markings which reminded me of the curves, stretch marks, scars and otherwise beautiful markings that all tell their own story over time.
10% of the profits from the summer collection will be donated to Brave Space Alliance in Chicago, a non-for-profit creating and developing programming, resources, and services for the LGTBQ+ community on the South and West Sides of Chicago.