Betty's Backbend Cuff Sculpture

The gym is a place where everyday antics and behaviors are amplified in a stage-like environment where there is a hyperawareness of our bodies in a public space. My works tell gym stories through tender yet comically empathetic visual narratives that touch on struggle and empowerment in a different take on feminism. I want to play with the absurdity of having a rock-hard gym body by making one out of rocks. Rock Solid Bodies is series of wearable paintings made with a metalsmithing and lapidary technique called inlay, which is akin to collaging with hand-cut stones fit into sterling silver channels. Because COVID-19 has closed galleries for such a long time, I want to reshape what wearables can have the potential to do, serving as a conversation piece outside of traditional contemporary art spaces by bringing art to the streets. This particular cuff bracelet takes the form of a woman in a backbend pose. What I really like about it is that it looks just as great as a small sculpture as it does worn as jewelry. It's made with sterling silver and 60 pieces of hand-cut pink opal, hematite, rainbow obsidian, sodalite, chrysocolla, lepidolite, and amazonite with almost 100 hours of labor. It comes with a bespoke "plyometric jump box" that can either be used to store the cuff bracelet or to display the cuff on top of.