ARTEMISIA ARTS
body adornments as medicine
the materials used to make these adornments were collected in different lands across the earth.
when you wear these pieces, you carry with you the wisdom of the land as well as the wisdom of the people who have tended these places for generations and resisted the colonization of their bodies and spirits. when you wear these pieces, i invite you to listen to the stories they carry and learn to heal from the medicine they offer. let these pieces accompany you on the journey of rewilding your mind, body, spirit and intuitive knowing.
with each piece, i transmit love, healing, reflection, transformation, justice, imagination, expansion and trust into your existence. my hope is that these pieces will be worn by those who are seeking to discover their own essence, their own inner power, their undiscovered treasure, their sweet and powerful voice, their inner compass. this art is made for those who wish for protection, for those who are fighting for their communities, praying for the health of sacred lands, healing self and others, who are committed to the principle that no one is free until all beings are free. 1
through my journey getting to know these materials, i have learned from each tree, each seed, each stone. here i share some of what these natural beauties have taught me, in hopes that their power may be passed on.​ below are a series of reflections and prayers inspired by the stories of the materials i work with.
the materials used to make these pieces have been collected from fallen and pruned branches found in high mountains, open fields and deep canyons. these branches, weathered from the elements, are often grey and seemingly ordinary on the outside. but through careful sawing, sanding, polishing and oiling, their stunning beauty, their stories, their secrets begin to reveal themselves. i find that the most inspiring beauty is found in the knots of branches, the places where there has been most disturbance, transition, chaos or change in the life of these beings.
Pink pepper tree
Schinus molle
all of the natural materials used for these adornments were once living. branches were shed, blown off by the winds, charred by flames, weathered by the rains. they experienced a kind of death, you may say. in creating these pieces, i work to continue the cycle of birth, death and rebirth. by giving love to these weathered materials, i imagine breathing life back into them. by wearing them as body adornments, you bring life to them, revive their medicine, unlock their secrets and carry them with you wherever you go. ​
Redwood
this art form emerged from my adoration of the tiniest beauties of the natural world, the magic of the molecular. the dazzling sparkles of pebbles on rugged beaches. the pores that appear on citrus leaves when you hold them up to the sun. the suspended dew drops that form on the tips of blades of grass in the early morning. i make this art because it is my way of honoring life, honoring the miracles that often go unnoticed. ​
Polished mussel chards
Mytilus edulis
1.- concept inspired by Fannie Lou Hamer's "Nobody's Free Until Everybody's Free," speech at the National Women's Political Caucus in Washington DC in 1971.