Written During the 2020 Pandemic

I enjoy creating my Asian-like faces jewelry and making pieces that symbolize the uniqueness of faces in all times. My art talk today is about my new Unmentionables mask series. My inspiration was in how we all must now wear masks as a way of protecting ourselves, and how the masks may come to serve in some resilient way as part of our new identification.

The Unmentionable’s face has a removable mask, symbolizing our way of keeping oneself and others safe from spreading COVID. This idea came to me as a way to remind myself and others of our difficult times in a gentle and real way. I make the piece in a hollowform construction and add ornamented pins that simulate earrings and provide a way to put the mask onto the piece. The mask is removable and the necklace with the face may be worn with or without the sterling silver mask. It is a comment and a reflection on how we have been wearing masks and might necessarily continue to do so.