MFA Thesis Snippet: ( Self) Preservation: I look to the ocean as a form of escape, trying to make sense of creatures unknown to me and my world on land. We humans are fragile beings, fleshy beings exposed to wear and tear of everyday life. I bring these creatures out of their world underwater and bring them to view on the human body. I imagine what it would be like to be a nudibranch, a squid or coral. A creature that can defend itself through skin and body make up, what would it be like to have a skin that would more likely be able to defend our body. My jewelry takes course through imagination, color, and texture, creating a second skin for its wearer. Instead of thinking of it as jewelry the word body adornment comes to mind and might be more appropriate. The two beings are merging and morphing into a human-sea creature hybrid. Through my work I like to imagine these pieces helping their human wearers, protecting the skin underneath. Many of these creatures I am interested are brightly adorned in splashes of color, while these colors might turn most humans off, I am drawn into the patterns and skins of these beings wishing I too were adorned with brightly colored skin. 2016