Wing Nuts: BE BEST
Carbon steel, aluminum, wood, acrylic paint.
60 x 48 x 2.125 in (121.9 x 152.4 x 5.4 cm)
2021
Two wing nuts that remained from a toilet repair served as inspiration for this portrait, which was created by riveting 9,500 wing nuts and 1,500 hex nuts in seven shades of orange. In addition to a wing nut being a bolt fastener with wings for gripping, a wing nut is also the slang term for a person who advocates extreme political ideas and spreads conspiracy theories. This piece memorializes the moment when, at a campaign rally, Donald Trump mocked a journalist with disabilities. After he won the U.S. Presidency, his wife Melania, in her role as First Lady, launched an awareness campaign entitled BE BEST, which focused on the emotional, social, and physical well-being of children.
Lone Star
Wire hangers
39.5 x 40.5 x .5 in (100.3 x 102.9 x 1.3 cm)
2021
Lone Star was created in response to the Texas legislature’s passage of Senate Bill 8 (S.B. 8), which instituted a six-week abortion ban.
January 6
Rat traps, plywood, acrylic paint.
2 pieces – ea. 76.5 x 43.5 x 1.5 in (194.3 x 110.5 x 3.8 cm)
2022
Two inverted (inversion symbolizing distress) U.S. flags created from 216 rat traps form the foundation of January 6. Each trap includes the name of a U.S. Senator and Congress member who:
- Objected to certifying the electoral votes from Arizona or Pennsylvania based on false allegations of election fraud.
AND/OR
- Voted against forming a bipartisan national commission to investigate the January 6 U.S. Capitol attack perpetrated by insurrectionists who believed lies of a stolen election. (See above.)
The traps were set with paint-filled balloons and triggered for each event. If a representative objected to the certification, their trap triggered one balloon; if they voted against the commission, their trap triggered another balloon. The red stars represent the proportional damage to our democracy related to these votes (left certification, right commission).
Death Knell series – 70 +
Cotton, acrylic, ink.
11 x 8.5 x .75 in (27.9 x 21.6 x 1.9 cm)
2022
Death Knell grapples with the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 Dobbs decision, overturning Roe v Wade and a half century of legal precedent. Each piece in the series begins with a cutting of cotton emblazoned with the first page of the Court’s opinion. Embroidered upon this is text exposing emotions incited by this decision, beginning with dismay, moving through rage, and culminating with resolve. Embroidery, a traditionally feminine pursuit, is employed to deliver an unvarnished rejection of the restrictions imposed on women by the court and society at large.
Choice(s)
Chromed copper wire, carbon fiber, filament,
115 x 18.5 x .25 in (292 x 47 x .635 cm)
2022
A poem, a letter, a plea.
Choice(s) was written shortly after the SCOTUS shadow docket decision declined to prevent Texas’ S.B.8 from going into effect. Sadly, at that point, the writing was on the wall. Between concept and completion, our fears were confirmed.
You said They would never overturn it Perhaps you even believed No guilt With a dash or a bubble or a tap Fates were cast Rights denied Options eliminated Not then Not fully in that moment Erosion takes time And many Those who act Those who enable Those who blindly look away But it is here now Not here here Yet Not in this bubble Not in this world of choice Of privilege Of agency But for other people For women For girls For those not ready And perhaps never will be For those whose bodies bestow instinct but deny santuary Autonomy is not theirs Neither is safety Maybe it never was And the highest of the high affirm this In the shadows Late... while we slumbered They said they wouldn't In their slippery sermon hearings Their roadshows Creed and politics palpable but cautiously cloistered Precedent Their password to ascension Echoed and then forgotten They said what some needed to hear Demanded to hear Absolution granted Responsibility relinquished So that the jurors could confirm While remaining in good graces And Power Because that is the bottom line Always What will you do with yours? Will you remember you? The principles at your core? Who will you stand with now? Your girlfriend, wife, sister, daughter, granddaughter, niece, friend, colleague, neighbor? Will you defend our rights? Our freedoms? Who will you vote for next? And what will it say about what you value most?