Chapter 1 describes my previous jewelry work related to my interest in body parts and other materials as medium and lockets. The questions in the statement of problem deal with how the use of a specific body site, color and incorporation of body parts in my jewelry make my work more intimate to the wearer. Chapter 2 discusses the work I focused around the questions proposed in Chapter 1. Important points are: a more focused way of using specific body sites to support my ideas, the use of different skin colors in my work, and the physical effect of my jewelry to the wearer. Chapter 3 expresses my own criticism about the work and my future goals after this project.

The submarine and the spaceship fit in perfectly with the ideas of permanence and protection on which my work has been focusing. It is not coincidental that I have long been fascinated with the shapes and mechanisms of these vehicles. They are complex machines designed for a complex function; I find the precision of this to be appealing. I have used their shapes and mechanisms as design aspect in my thesis work. Also, in the studio, I have developed a type of Damascus steel bowl by modifying a technique once used for making gun barrels. I have made three small vessels inspired by spaceships and submarines using this modified technique.

The lack of ancestral record instilled in me this desire to hold on to memories, and to leave my children with permanent records or memories of our family. My desire to work with metals was inspired by the need to encapsulate a record of memories through a more permanent means. The durability of steel, I feel, can be used as a diary, in the form of an artistic and lasting object, rather than written words. The need to leave behind a legacy inspired me to explore the use of lockets and containers that have some resemblance to a reliquary. My intent was not one of religious purpose, but rather to create a locket or container that would reflect or contain symbols of where one's roots begin, the home.

Artist Statement from the MFA Exhibition: "My work about place attachment and the physical markers within the landscape that I consider home - Minnesota. I am interested in space and place and where those two things intersect. Using a limited color palette, metalsmithing and enameling techniques, texture, drawing, and photographs, I imbue my work with the memories of the landscape. My work is about experiencing space and is meant to bring pause -a moment of quiet and calm.."

Artist Statement from the MFA Exhibition: "Trappings is a huntress’ vanity room installation, exhibiting the duality of being feminine while utilizing masculine skills and traits. Keela Dee Dooley is a metalsmith from southwest Virginia, in the Appalachian Mountains where southern culture has gender expectations, stereotypes, and misconceptions. Working in what is considered a “man’s world” she challenges the expected role of a young woman by being skilled in a traditionally male dominated field, ferrous metalsmithing, and referencing the traditionally male dominated practice of hunting. Breaking the boundaries of industrial equipment and material, she creates elegant yet intimidating wearable sculptures out of steel on the CNC Plasma Cutter."

Artist Statement from the MFA Exhibition: "My work represents my personal experience with having learning differences such as Dyslexia, ADD, Auditory Processing Disorder, and others. I create pieces that reflect my thoughts, experiences, and the obstacles that I face daily. I utilize materials obtained from school desks as memories that reflect on the long periods of time we spend siting at desks in classrooms, during which we discover how to process information. To articulate these experiences, I create marks and drawings on recycled pieces of school desks. These marks indicate equations, words spelling, and information that mimics symbols from my own learning experience. Through the inclusion of hidden stones and drawings, I integrate positive associations and humor."

Belief is our acceptance of an optimal truth. We embed a belief into the things in our life that give us comfort or strength. Whether they are recognizable in popular culture or are our own private object, their value shifts to what we need them to be. My current work is inspired by multi-cultural historic luck or from my own practice of object collection. They are physical objects that are representative of ritual or ones that “bring” luck. The objects are primarily wearable jewelry, although I have included the pocket as a location of wearability. Regardless of how or where they are worn, they are meant to be valued by the wearer in some capacity.

Brief Artist Statement by Lara Asam as part of a 2021 MFA Exhibition, entitled "Thresholds” in the Cora Stafford Gallery on the campus of the University of North Texas on April 12-22, 2021.

Brief Artist Statement by Loren Jones as part of a 2021 MFA Exhibition, entitled "Objects of Wonder: Journey of Perception” at 23 Design Co., Denton, TX on April 15-20, 2021.

My work consists of clothing jewelry hybrids that combine the sentimentality and materiality of jewelry with the coverage and protection of clothing.

My work explores the interpersonal and intrapersonal relationships we have with our physical, mental, and emotional bodies. Using techniques ranging from traditional carpentry to digital fabrication, the works are created to represent individual traumatic experiences as well as the universality of loss. My pieces are meant to elicit an empathic response from the audience. There are common traumas and pains that bring humans together as a form of bonding.

My artistic practice centers around personal history, connection, and identity. I reflect on my experience as a Nigerian who has lived on three continents thus far, and how those experiences have led to the deconstruction, reassembly, and hybridization of my identity. My work pays homage to my tribe of origin, Yoruba, whilst redefining and exploring the hybridity that exists as a result of cross-cultural influences that are prominent in our world today. I incorporate varying objects and materials such as jewelry, sculpture, wood, metal, and fiber. This integration speaks to the multicultural existence of the world I live in the interrelationship between Nigeria and the West.