This is the artifacted piece I just finished: I've Seen Things. I think a lot about what I'm doing with these pieces — okay yes, possibly too much — but what it comes down to is this: I like to look at old stuff. It satisfies my soul. I am not about new and shiny and precision and maiden voyages, with all the false purity and myths about perfection those imply. I'm about time, wear, mistakes and damage and repair and continuing to forgive ourselves for forgetting to put the bins out on garbage night, and for the big stuff too: for digging deep into unspoken shames and setting those out into the sunlight then moving forward with our imperfect bodies leading truly messy sweet caring wonderful lives. It extra satisfies my soul to make this work. Sometimes I want those holes and repairs to be visible. It helps us know we're all in this together. It makes space for us to show up every day, damaged but still whole, repaired (and possible stronger for it), to do the good work of caring for each other.
I've also written about artifacting here if you'd like to see what I think I'm doing.
You can see more photos and check availability of "I've Seen Things" here.
