Encrusted
Labor Objects + Deep Time
Encrusted. Caked. Covered. Bejeweled. Sequined. Laced. Gilded. Wreathed. Fringed. Embossed. Chased. Emblazoned. Embroidered. Flounced. Bossed. Adorned. Decorated. Garnished. Bedecked. Embellished. Trimmed. Arrayed. Orante. Baroque. Flamboyant. Extravagant. Decked out. Bling. Parure (a matched set of ornaments - had to look that one up!). Regalia. Ornamentation. Bijou.
The state rock of Iowa is the geode.
“Designated by the Iowa General Assembly in 1967, these unique rocks are famous for their plain, rounded, and sometimes lumpy exteriors that—when cracked open—reveal a hollow core lined with beautiful, sparkling mineral crystals like quartz and calcite.” - Iowa Science Teachers Journal, “Geodes: A look at Iowa’s State Rock.”
Geodes are pretty boring. They look like dusty rocks. Unremarkable.
But crack 'em open, and they glimmer.
Interestingly, the geode (or thunder eggs) is also the state rock of Oregon! Where my family and I are moving! Ok, they are a little different, filled with different minerals and formed differently, but the same idea.
Plain on the outside, inside filled with goodness.
Where was I now? Oh, yes. To me the characteristics of the geode align with the concept of my Labor Objects: adornment series. In this series I am using worn workwear and hi-vis clothing collected from manual laborers and artists, I make modern relics venerating these discarded textiles. In doing so, I am expanding upon ideas of unseen labor, moving from the underappreciated efforts of motherhood to other laborers neglected by our society - artists, migrant and farm laborers, and home health caregivers.
Just like a geode, these labors are hidden in plain sight. Summer in the Midwest brings round-the-clock construction. Road crews and house builders capitalize on the good weather to repair what winter has ravenged. Similarly, my artist/professor friends emerge from teaching and travel to residencies to dig into MAKING WORK.
Artist labors are unseen as well. And underpaid! Or not paid at all.
Artwork is hard, sweaty work. I am not sure many people realize this. Except maybe artists and their partners, who are often wrangled into this sweaty work too. Loading up artworks. Installing in galleries. Weaving giant wire sculptures (as was the case for the labor that wore these gloves down). It takes a tremendous amount of physical effort to make and exhibit artwork. Sitting in one position for 5 hours stringing little beads on is killer on the body. Never mind the eye sight!
With this most recent pair of gloves I wanted to ENCRUST THEM.
I wanted them to glitter, jewel-like. I just couldn’t get out of my head the amazing collection of rocks and minerials I saw during at trip to the American Museum of Natural History in NYC in 2024. Around the time I started to work in this series.
For a good long while now, I have looked to the Earth for guidence. I don’t mean in some hippy dippy way but I have cultivated a curiosity in geology and rock formations. So when I saw these amazing creations of nature, it was supremely inspiring.
Looking to sediment and rocks conjurs the power of deep time. Eons and Epocs. A way of calculating time that makes me feel delightfully small and peaceful. As a mother, living in this whizzing century, time always feels so compressed. So counted. Often I am some place else. Struggling to be present. Always wanting to live in the world building of my mind, of the studio. 25 tabs open on my laptop.
Deep time is comforting in its invisiblity. Quartz being developed inside of cavarns and rock balls. Gems fused by time, heat and pressure. A different kind of clock.
“As artist and mother, I am both archivist and field hand, creating studies in the accretion of domestic life and cataloging its labors. I disassemble, reconfigure, and alter abandoned textiles in works honoring motherhood and unseen labor. Stratums of fiber in my sculptures reference sedimentary layers and the state of my laundry pile. I map the territory of my home place with the visual language of topographic maps.”
Sibling Se[nt|d]iments, Sculptures the heights of my kids and their friends. Listen to learn more about this piece.
Cloth is a kind of Clock, as well
Worn areas, rips and tears being an archive of use. A record of a lifespan. Textiles are a second skin, a protective barrier and a comforting insulator. They often outlive our own bodies.
VIII. Immersions “Things that we burn, wear out, throw away, eat, kill, silence, forget; things that we repair, recycle, make, plant, give birth to, remember; things that decompose, evaporate, crumble into dust; things that germinate, multiply, grow, mutate, speak. Think about art in terms of time…” -Rebecca Solnit, Landscapes of Emergency.
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Thought provoking as ever.