Safety 1st

2024

Cast sterling silver child-safe outlet cover

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This piece started, as many of my works do, with a list: Things to make metal at Penland. This list was in preparation for a class I took in the summer of 2024. Jewelry Journey: Lost & Found was a small-scale metal casting class taught by the knowledgeable Mary Hallam Pearse. Along with 19 other objects, including several bread tabs, a cocktail umbrella, a twist tie ring, a lego, a leaf, and a tiny boar I sculpted from wax, Safety 1st brought me great joy and satisfaction.

I made this because the thought of it made me laugh. When I saw the child safe outlet covers at the Montessori School I work at through my “things to make metal” lens, I got excited. The prospect amused me, and though I haven’t quite put my finger on it, there’s a connection here between childish urges to stick things where they shouldn’t go (but feel like they should), the call of the void, and depression/suicidal tendencies that comes together in a way that fascinates me. It makes me a little nervous too. I’ll let you know when I figure it out.