Vanitas: A Series

2022.

Sterling silver, red tigers eye, brecciated jasper, spessartite garnet, red garnet.

This series commemorates my late father and visually symbolizes his impact on my life. After he passed I was repeatedly visited by a cardinal, which have long been known as messengers from heaven. Unintentionally, a cardinal has become a symbol of the sense of protection my father had given me, but also a reminder of the way my life has changed and the various improvements I’ve made since he’s been gone. Each piece in this series abstractly represents a different body part of a cardinal, the wings, the beak and the head.

I was awarded a FOCUS grant from Iowa State University for $600 to complete this project.