My design work varies from the poetic to the pragmatic. With self-initiated projects, I tend to design for the domestic sphere, at the scale of the individual, and often without a lot of technology. My academic projects involve greater ethnographic research and participatory methods and tend toward systems-, service-, and strategic-design. The images below represents the "making" aspect of my design practice, often in collaboration with Stephanie M. Tharp and our studio, materious.
Amulets are objects, most often jewelry, that afford a sense of protection for the possessor. This amulet system incorporates interchangeable glass vials whose special contents can be customized. They might contain a lover's breath, grains of sand from a special beach, or a thread from an heirloom quilt. Each day a vial is chosen to meet the perceived challenges ahead and is placed in the amulet housing where it remains hidden from others. While worn as a necklace, the gentle bounce of the amulet against the chest is a quiet and comforting reminder of its contents and the power imparted.
NUMBER NINE
Amulet system and storage stand
Ebony wood, nickel, glass vials, rubber stoppers
Necklace: ebony housing, aluminum cap, leather
1995
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