SotoldCreative 

My Head House is a map of my mind; a fantastical imagining of childhood fantasies and dark corners which utilizes ‘archival scrap’ glass from past projects, as well as glass and antiquities found in the Delaware River, to challenge linear conceptualizations of time and draw attention to the cumulative nature of existence. 

My Head House was (is) a loving confrontation of who I’ve been before and where I have come from in order to arrive here, now. My Head House is shadow work. The journey of this piece from inception to completion is an on-going healing meditation that enables me to love all of the parts of myself: parts and pieces I may have discarded before as ‘scrap’, unwanted, or not pretty.

Cosmic Canoes, as told by Archangel Jophiel, is the story of two lovers making their way through the multiverse. Two canoes navigate the grid(s) of space-time, encountering various obstacles and experiences (represented by various found objects and curio) to find that their wake has merged into one continuous flow. Anchored by love and grounded connection, the two lovers continue to flow through their earthly living experiences together and independently, simultaneously. 

Initially created to counterbalance the mentally stimulating color of lavender, Cosmic Canoes calls in the power of the color Yellow - igniting the solar plexus and inviting an embodied approach to living. Just as two lovers navigate the waters of life in harmony, so too must our minds and bodies exist in alignment.

The Cloud: A cohort of creatures born of a forever- emergent collective experience.

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Although originally these cicadas were treated as individual pieces of work, It felt as if the cicadas revealed to me that they were meant to be created in community and come into arrangement alongside one another before their release into the world.

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In the midst of an unfolding collective pandemic experience, it was It was powerful to honor the collective experience of witnessing the BroodX cicadas emerge from their hibernation. 

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I wonder, what other collective experiences are unfolding and how can we choose to be unified as opposed to divided throughout these collective experiences?

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Spirit Ladder is a transcendental mapping of spiritual growth: an ethereal interpretation of the Chutes and Ladders of life. A channel of expansion and upward ascension (denoted by antique salt dishes which speak to the flavor of life and purity of the soul) is situated amongst a bustling grid of multi-directional pathways. Holes, curves, foreign and natural objects intersect rigid gridlines, inviting perpetual motion without clear direction. However ‘direction-less’ these ‘alternate’ pathways may be, they are beautiful. 

A key element of my own spiritual and artistic growth has been letting go of fear. Although I had known for some time that it was important for me to incorporate found objects in my work, I cultivated a fear of actualizing this artistic calling. The Fear of ‘messing up’, thereby dishonoring the life of said found objects, accompanied by the hard work and extra attention to detail required in order to skillfully solder irregular shapes and items into panels, kept me from trying for years.  

Spirit Ladder is the first piece in which I incorporate found objects and antiquities - putting into motion my artistic liberation, and irrevocably shaping all of my work moving forward. Spirit Ladder is very much an energetic embodiment of letting go of fear and surrendering to the journey of life and living, while finding beauty on whichever rung of life one may find themself.

They’re still with us, friends! Reminding us to play, and make our own rules. They’ve built a home inside each of us….what do you think it looks like? ✨

This piece features a colorized glass slide, archival ‘scrap’ glass, copper wiring rescued from the garbage, and two plastic beads

Who are you listening to?

Who are you tuning out?

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When I sat down to solder this piece, a zillion terrible thoughts flooded my mind. I took a few moments to journal - pencil sounds and big letters always calm me down- and all of a sudden I found myself writing left handed (I am right -hand dominant).

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Using my left hand demanded focus and patience...and It required I let go of the zillion thoughts flowing into my mind.

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And so, this piece was soldered left handed, as a practice of presence. No muscle memory to carry me forward, each movement was brand new.