If you've been following me on social media, or for any extended period of time, you already know I'm not one to remain silent while there's injustice in our world. I did not grow up hearing the stories of my family in Iceland and Denmark during the 40s risking their lives to save people to grow up and bow down when fascism comes out in full force. This terrible ideology has been here for decades and we only needed to heed the call of our Native Indigenous relatives- their brutal experiences from the people that colonized this land was inspiration to what later happened in 1940s Germany. It's not terribly surprising it's reemerged again to terrorize and silence- let's not let them win. Friends-it's our job to stand against this, do not be complicit and do not stay silent. Please use your voice with any and all platforms to stand against this injustice.
If you are with me and want to get involved and stay engaged, keep reading. If you disagree with me- I'd still like you to stay around and be willing to consider a different view than yours, and reflect on what is happening in our country. If you no longer want to support me or my business, that's ok- it was never for you and I'm sorry you got the impression my work had no meaning behind it.
ALL of my work has deep meaning behind it, at the very least it is created to aid you in being EMPOWERED and INTENTIONAL in your daily life. These words have literally been in my artist statement for around 10 years and counting. If I didn't make that clear enough, know I will be much louder about it moving forward.
Recently I shared a reel on Instagram and Facebook with a statement of how and why I came to releasing this protest statement collection the way I am. If you want to watch/listen to that- just follow the links at the bottom of my site to FB/IG- it'll be the video of me just before the photos of this collection. Otherwise, I'm going to share that statement here for you to read.
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Statement from video posted on social media:
Hello again friends, I'm back to follow up on the video I posted yesterday (1/22) and to give a shout out to everyone that went on strike today (1/23)- thank you for doing your part to stand up in solidarity and speak out to show a united voice. We got this- let's keep going!
In that video yesterday I mentioned a line of protest statement jewelry I'd been working on and how I started having conflicting feelings about how I was going to put this work into the world, so I wanted to share more about that and what to expect for this collection.
Now, before I go further I want to share a little something about me.. if you didn't know, I'm a Minnesota living in Tucson, AZ. I am still deeply rooted and connected to my home state and the communities I've connected with there, from Bemidji, Park Rapids, Minneapolis, Winona, Duluth, and everywhere in between. Many of you know I travel back there every single year so I refresh my roots in Lake Bemidji and reconnect with all the people and places that raised me and helped me become the woman I am today- I am a proud Minnesotan and no matter where I reside physically in the world, my being remains intertwined with the heart and soul of Minnesota.
As you can imagine now knowing this about me, I had my eyes on MN as current events began to escalate there. The concern and pain I felt for my friends and family caught in the crosshairs of this crisis, having not fully recovered from the trauma of the George Floyd Uprising, this new assault on the people of South Mpls hit deep. It built up a lot of heated energy within me and I needed a way to release some of that so I didn't fall into overwhelm and inaction. So as an artist and jeweler I went to my bench to pound out some metal to relieve some of that aggression and made a ring with the words Fuck Ice stamped into silver. I shared this with you all and had many reaching out to ask if I was going to make more or would I make them one and I thought- this is great, I can make more and do a fundraiser so I can donate to some of the MPLS groups doing the good work to help care for people affected by the ice raids. I launched into making a few sterling silver rings and then added a handful of copper earrings all stamped with words of protest, resistance, and affirmation.
While working on this project I started feeling conflict about this and I didn't know why. It wasn't until I came across some discussions happening in a Twin Cities group on FB that I got some clarity. The convo was around some concern that many people seemed to be rushing to buy up stickers, tees, and other merch, even getting tattooed, with a variety of protest art, while many were asking "and what action are you taking to support the needs of the community outside of buying protest art?" and as well as some concern that people may be exploiting the crisis to profit from protest. I think this is a really valid concern and something we've seen before in times of unrest.
This gave me pause and I talked to my partener, Weston, and did a lot of reflection to ask myself "am I contributing to a form of complacency in which someone buys my work to wear the slogan- if you will, and their action stops there"? While I believe that my fans and supporters are already awesome and take action on a regular basis, it made me take a breath and wondered if I could offer these pieces in a different way- a way in which we work together to show up and take action.
After some soul searching and brainstorming- I came up with a plan to offer this collection as gifts to people that do the work and take the steps to find an organization or group doing the necessary work to care for people affected by these ice raids, and donate to them personally- then be rewarded by me with a gift of one of these pieces of protest statement jewelry. This idea lit a flame inside me and I've been working out the steps to make this possible.
I also want to share something Weston said while I was telling him about this plan- that it's great if I, one person, can run a fundraiser and collect the money from say 10 different people- but that donation shows to the organization that it's from ONE person. So what if 10 different people all made a donation- that shows those groups that a larger number of people are united and support this cause. And honestly, I truly believe that showing our numbers and how united we are for our country and communities is SO important at this moment in time.
So to make a long story short, too late- this is the way I'm going to release this collection. Now this post is already too long, so I'll be doing another post to focus on the steps you need to take to get a gift from me from this collection (I'll put it on my website + blog too), but for now you have a little homework to do: Research organizations and mutual aid groups in Mpls that you feel called to donate to (you can choose more than one). I'm going to provide you with a
link of an extensive list of place to donate to in Mpls, but if you're not in MN and feel deeply about giving to your local community here in Tucson (or elsewhere in the states)- I see you and honor that, I just ask that you find some that are specifically focused on assisting those in need that are affected by the ice raids, because it is happening everywhere. I trust in you to find those groups in your community, so I will only be providing a list for Mpls. Just bookmark those groups today and stay tuned for the steps I'll ask you to take- it's not super complicated, just a little awkward maybe- kinda like me!
Ok, I'll see you back here tomorrow with the plan. Sending you all so much strength, courage, and love. We're in this together and together we can make change together. Love you!
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There's a lot of thoughts, ideas, people and businesses that inspired me to step out of the normal and try something new. I could write a novel on it all- maybe that's more I'll talk about later and of course I welcome constructive conversations and questions. I'm not a perfect human and I'm not doing this for my ego- my hope is I just do some good and create a fire in you and me to step up and take action in our daily lives.
