Artist Statement: This brooch is inspired by Cantonese soup culture, which is the most significant category in Cantonese food culture. It shows the love and care of mother and principle of a healthy diet. This brooch shows my identity as…
Artist Statement: I explore the intersections between memory, landscape, and intimacy through the mediums of jewelry and enameling. Jewelry serves as a reminder of home and the memories we carry with us. Through my work, I aim to map the…
Artist Statement: This bronze piece is from a series I made to express the emotions I felt when I was living back in my home country, South Africa. Being South African born and raised, I grew up with so much…
Artist Statement: I make vessels. In the process of raising vessels, I have come to acknowledge that I am born from vessels, raised as a vessel which my mom and dad hammered for a long time. And now, as each…
Artist Statement: When the lock is hidden, the key becomes a connection between illusion and reality. When its role and function are blurred with the change of the key itself, the unknown completes the imagination. The curiosity and conjecture behind…
Artist Statement: The piece represents a moment, a certain feeling, or a part of myself that is responsible for revealing parts of my identity as an individual, a daughter, and a foreigner. As an international student, bicultural environments can be…
Artist Statement: Evidence of control and impulse emerges through repetition. Repeat a mark, repeat a form, repeat an idea in ten different ways, repeat, repeat, repeat. When does repetition, an attempt to assert control, become automatic, and is in turn,…
Artist Statement: I make work about dysfunctions in human relationships, specifically about intimate relationships between two people. I am interested in the subtleties of harmful behavior and hint at dysfunctions by using nature as a metaphor in examining human happenings….
Artist Statement: My work explores the ways in which oppressive forces, such as the Catholic church and patriarchal systems dominate and control marginalized groups. Utilizing the bold nature of metal and precious gemstones to exemplify these themes and empower those…
Artist Statement: Women have bodies that are capable of creating life, of nurturing, of transforming itself and being reborn. This is my source of inspiration, of empowerment and pride. For these pieces I wanted to explore the changes that our…
Artist Statement: My work explores a cultural narrative of dueling identities, and metamorphic processes in the natural world and within one’s self-image. The use of enamel and cloisonné depict fragile subjects often influenced by my cultural experiences as an Asian-American….
Artist Statement: When the armor is worn, it serves as a symbolic shield, protecting the wearer and defending their freedom to make choices that align with their authentic selves. It embodies the notion that everyone should have the right to…
Artist Statement: My work is rooted in process and inspired by the natural environment. This body of work is an exploration of form and technique through an imagined mythology of the natural world. I am inspired by the beauty I…
HONORABLE MENTION Artist Statement: My artwork is communication, shedding light on the existence of queer trans Latiné/Chicano individuals who face undesired attention and repercussions due to their sexual, gender, and ethnic identities. I am reshaping power dynamics surrounding non-white queer…
Artist Statement: The goal of this submission is to draw a portrait of who I am, what I like to do and where I was. “In Wave” is a commemorative teapot meant to tell the story of me hitchhiking through…
Artist Statement: My work engages human nature’s desire to connect. Through making, I explore how objects act as intermediaries between people. This series reflects on the delicate balance and navigation that happens when we intertwine our lives with others. I…
Artist Statement: I worked all my life in the food and beverage industry. I enjoyed the work, but it was long hours, working on weekends and creativity was limited to designing specialty menus and sometimes event settings. I mostly worked…
Artist Statement: As a jewellery designer based in London with Italian and French roots, my work is deeply influenced by my multicultural background. I aim to create wearable pieces of jewellery that reflect the diverse cultural influences that have shaped…
Artist Statement: Inspired by ancient Persian art and architecture, I explore captivating geometrical shapes in my creative process. Starting with a single shape, I create connections that allow for expansion and multiplication, infusing movement and flexibility into my designs. I…
BEST IN SHOW Artist Statement: As an Iranian artist, my work is deeply influenced by the ongoing revolution that is unfolding in my homeland. Through my art, I seek to explore the complex social and political realities of Iran today,…
Artist Statement: My background of having completed my BS in Industrial Design and continuing my studies in metalsmithing has led me to make work combining both of these interests in functional work that also speaks to the one of the…
Artist Statement: I’ve been thinking a lot about adornment and appearance and the expectations of spectacle placed on certain bodies to perform and the desire to sometimes just be left alone to live and love as we want looking the…
Artist Statement: Winding Ways is an ongoing project exploring the theme of atypical journeys; those laced with knots and detours, and guided by instinct. As I pursued a non-linear academic and creative path, I was struck by the culture of…
Artist Statement: This brooch is inspired by the dream catcher and is hand fabricated. The rubies are to represent stars and the circular rings are to filter out bad dreams. It’s a unique and intricate piece that captures the magic…