Artist Statement
Bees in the Past and Lost and Found are two projects that allow me to develop a cohesive connection between my interests in taxidermy art, love for animals, and metalsmithing skills. Through this body of work, I explore the new to me processes of taxidermy and working with resin while expanding and developing my technical skills of casting, fabrication, and design. My intention for this body of work is to add preciousness and value to subjects that may have been deemed useless or forgotten.
Bees of the Past is a resin vessel that contains a collage of preserved honeybees foraging for pollen on local wildflowers. The resin diorama is encased within copper decorative caging and surrounded by more preserved flowers topped with silver cast bees. Using resin allows me to preserve bees in a way similar to how insects are preserved in amber. I arrange and show these honeybees in a dioramic manner to help remind the viewer of their important role within the ecosystem. Being a beekeeper, I value each and every honeybee with the utmost respect. I chose to cast some of the bees in silver to highlight their value over the other objects and preserve them in a more permanent precious material.
Lost and Found is a wearable brooch that encases a preserved rabbit forearm within silver decorative elements. Referencing the folklore of a lucky rabbit foot, I want to add value and meaning back into this found forgotten limb and give it a new life by making it into a refined and revered wearable piece of jewelry. I use newly acquired taxidermy methods to properly preserve the arm, and precious materials to add value to the object.
