Evidence of Dormancy

After a decade-long hiatus these objects are a physical expression of creative dormancy. The body of work is centered on a series of hand tools from my metalsmithing practice that have been molded then cast in pewter, and from which bronze-cast roots have emerged. They serve as a material testament to the time I have spent in abeyance from my craft.

I am immensely grateful for and deeply proud of my full-time work as an educator and program coordinator at Montgomery College—overseeing a thriving program and studio. However, the demands of a profession in academia, at a school that values teaching above all, has led to the near-total neglect of my artistic practice.

Finding time is difficult, and finding a space to work is its own logistical hurdle. Renting a studio space was a short-lived financial burden when nearly a year passed without a single visit. Before long, it appeared the only opportunity I had to pick up the saw frame was for teaching demonstrations. This reality led to moments of reflection and comparison, watching peers in the field navigate their life’s obstacles consistently producing work, while I continued to feel creatively stretched thin and productively overwhelmed.

This dynamic shifted when a semester-long sabbatical offered a critical opportunity for me to become reacquainted with myself as an artist. Though most of my sabbatical time was dedicated to a student-centered teaching initiative, I was determined to maximize my time away from the classroom. I managed to mold and cast pewter components in my small apartment, as I prepared to make the most out of every second available to me during a hyper-focused one-week Micro Residency at the Baltimore Jewelry Center, where this series was fabricated and finished.

The result is a collection of objects, molded from the tools of my personal practice, that have sprouted roots. Similar to the roots I find on the potatoes in my kitchen,  I imagine these roots as the physical evidence of the long, challenging period of inattention suffered by my studio tools.