This body of work is about preserving my individuality and femininity in the dirty world of making metal sculpture. I wear my eyeliner with the same level of importance as my safety glasses. When removed from the body, oversized, and cast in iron, the form, while mimicking my eyes, becomes graphic and intimidating. I aim to politely mock societal expectations, and to have viewers consider their own expectations and how that impacts their perception of my pieces and the world at large. A cast iron sign inspired by wrought iron signs that would have identified a business in pre-industrial times, reflects my introverted nature and the way I prefer to interact with people. 

A giant nail file both challenges the notion that femininity is unimportant by making the object treacherous, and pokes fun at how I have a crisis every time I break a nail in the shop. Nurturing convenience turned disproportionate: heavy, sharp, dangerous. Cast glass, angle grinder discs, which obviously cannot function, push back at the idea that woman are “too abrasive” because they are supposed to be fragile. A pile of bobby pins, familiar to most women, blown up to become a human-sized nest and garner the attention they deserve. Delicate tools of beauty made in an iron forge.