I create sculpture and installation using embroidery and lace making. This choice of medium comes from personal history, as my family emigrated from Sicily, where sewing for a living is common. I am also interested in traditional women’s labor, particularly in the repetitive, rhythmic nature it lends to my process.

The work addresses monumental shifts in the individual’s thinking. This can be seen in She Slept, in which a phrase describing mourning is first repeated countless times, and then repeats less and less, like a voice in a mourner’s mind that quiets over time. It can also be seen in Gift Ribbon, in which fourteen feet of velvet ribbon, embroidered repeatedly with the phrase “love me,” unravels from a spool onto the gallery floor. This represents the letting go of harmful ideas concerning love.

My newest piece, The Exquisite Frost, is an umbrella comprised of lace that I made by hand. The medium contradicts the subject in that the umbrella offers no shelter, functioning as a false promise of protection. In this way, the piece critiques conventional ideals concerning what constitutes a safe, happy life. I am interested in lace because of its labor intensive quality and the painful history that it involves. In carrying out this labor as part of my process, I pay homage to the women who created the craft in order to better their lives and also critique established notions about what makes life good for a woman.

Discovering lace making was a pivotal point in my career. I will continue to render symbols of protection using lace. My next piece will be a series of small, 3 dimensional houses, made completely of black lace.