This is Fine
This metal headpiece represents Mercury's retrograde. Mercury orbits faster than Earth, creating an optical illusion of it moving backwards from time to time. The turquoise bead moves, representing Mercury, and the large snail on top represents the slowness of Earth. People often believe or joke that Mercury's retrograde makes odd things happen, which is represented in the work being worn on the head (where we think). As I created this piece, I felt as though I was retrograding. The metal had to become very ugly, melted, and broken before I realized I was still moving forward in its creation.
Cast bronze using: snail shells from the San Marcos River, sticks from TX State University campus, found plastic items; Other elements: fabricated copper; Fabric and fabric dye, embroidery thread, glass beads; 2022
Cast bronze elements and fabricated copper were soldered together. The fiber portions were embroidered and sewn and/or glued onto the metal portions.