This piece is from the first part of my senior collection.  I am working on the second part now.  This is the artist statement for my collection:

For many years I’ve tried to understand why art and science are viewed so separately, and how I could bring them together. With the study of geology comes the understanding of the soil beneath us, the earth around us, and the universe surrounding us. It's a desire that humanity has had for thousands of years, to solve the mystery of the world around us and then decorate our bodies with its lavish jewels. It’s a desire that unknowingly involves both art and science. The science is how we understand the rock, and the rock is the amulet or memento mori that we keep with us to remember and reflect on that understanding. My work combines art, scienceas well as inorganic, organic materials and forms. Nature has rules but it’s also a paradox.  This play within seemingly contradictory elements is more natural than we realize. I take that idea to create miniature worlds that one can gaze into and see not just a sparkly jewel, but the millions of years it took to put it in your hands.

 

Photo credit: Brittany O'Dell