Updates. Happenings. Things
Haii!!! It has been some time since I last updated my blog. Things have been so fast paced and I truly have been flying by the seat of my pants.
I have been blessed with such incredible opportunities the last 4 months and sometimes I still can’t believe it is real. Part of my daily routine is practice gratitude not only for what is around me, but for myself. Recognizing our worth seems like the one thing that we all collectively struggle with. Speaking only for myself, it is my biggest struggle. Part of my 2023 resolution is recognizing my worth and most certainly the wonderful things that have happened over the last few months remind me I am right where I need to be.
In November I flew to NYC from Cali for New York City Jewelry Week, I was incredibly blessed to speak on a panel all about Queerness at the Museum of Art and Design it was truly remarkable to sit on stage with some folx that I am lucky enough to have in my life as both colleagues in the field and friends. I also showed my work with Sienna Patti Contemporary Gallery at R&Company with a wonderful group of artists that included my hero since undergrad, Helen Britton! It was so awesome. I was on Cloud 9! I got to touch and wear one of her pieces in real life for the very first time. It reminded me of why I wanted to be a metalsmith in the very beginning. Beautiful construction, attention detail, and a true passion for her craft. I was thrilled. I also participated in an amazing exhibition curated by my pal Ada Chen at the The Jewelry Library - a phenomenal exhibition where I made DIY $P4RKL3_FiLTH kits all on a sliding scale donation to Queer Metalsmiths. I also had work in the Diamonds on the Toes of your Shoes (croc charm) exhibition, Dream Machine, and We are SNAG. It was so amazing.
Back in Cali I wrapped up 2022 making one more piece for an exhibition for the ECU Symposium “D0 U B3Li3V3 iN M3”
I am currently preparing for a very busy 2023 starting off the year strong preparing a body of work for my first ever solo exhibition at Fried Fruit Gallery in Willmington, North Carolina. The show will be up at the end of March with a few dates still TBD. So excited for this! I am in the studio making and really pumped to have a space like Fried Fruit to show a fresh new body of work nearly a year after my MFA show. There was a part of me so afraid of the unknown after graduating. Not sure what was going to happen or where I would go, and I am really happy that the universe is unfolding in a positive way.
I am really excited to share this body of work as I have shifted my thinking towards how my work can be a tool for Queer Liberation through exchanging of stories and knowledge. So much of “jewelry making” or artistic practices in general no matter what medium, are quite individualistic. I have been hyper focused on how I can decenter myself from my practice and involved others in an exchange of stories, information, and education as means of education and bonding. This is an ongoing project, but I am excited about the possibilities.
My first shop drop is tomorrow and there is some super cute stuff! This is my very first shop drop and I am really pumped to begin establishing myself as small business. As I look to the future of sustaining myself as a working artist, I am feeling hopeful developing a line of limited production line.
There is much to share and much to do, so please stay tuned and sign up for my newsletter! My newsletter is a place where I will share thoughts, updates on my exhibition work and conceptual development, and my shop. Subscribers always get a discount for shop drops as well :)
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Thank you for supporting my practice!
XXXXXXX- SULO
