My story

Born and raised in Wisconsin, I spent many of my teen years traveling the country, attending music festivals and visiting friends. Like most, I had my share of struggles that shaped my journey into a culmination of chaos and art. This has always driven me to explore creativity as an outlet. 

In 2018, I packed my entire life into the back of my Subaru Forester and set out on a journey to Tucson, Arizona. Without knowing a soul, I arrived and began a new life. Arizona’s vibrant community and potent natural areas were spirit-shaking. My entire world was torn apart in the months that followed my arrival as I unwound many of my “isms" and learned independence.

In 2021, I decided to uproot myself, yet again, after having spent the past several years gently exploring the southwestern U.S. I purchased a van, and began crafting it into the perfect tiny mobile home for myself and my dog, Dora the Explora. We set out on an eastward journey in January of 2022, and it was in the hills outside of Knoxville, Tennessee, that I found my first deer skull.  

A sudden family emergency prompted my premature journey home to Wisconsin in late March of 2022. I spent much of this time wandering through the frigid forest, reflecting on my years away, coming to terms with all that I still had to face, and reflecting on questions of death, rebirth, incarnation. Dora and I began to find an abundance of once-living materials on our adventures. A single deer skull turned into piles and piles of raccoon ribs, oppossum vertebrae, bird bones, fish heads, feathers, and shells. 

Isolated and shivering, when the night fell, I would turn on my propane heater and hunker in the van, tinkering with turning these dirty scavenged bits into polished, wearable art pieces. 

Many along the way had encouraged me to turn this little hobby into something, and for a long time I was hesitant. I wasn’t sure how the world would receive my art. But in January of 2023, I made it my new year’s mission to publicize this project. I was met with love and support, and discovered a reverent community of death enthuisiasts.

And we are here now. By choosing to invest in my work, you are supporting an artist, an individual, a human being, in her travels and her life. Your purchases put gas in my tank, food in my belly, and propane in my heater. Most importantly, though, the support fuels my heart and my spirit to continue creating for the sake of it.

May the talismans I have created offer you a fresh insight into the natural world, reverence for our sacred mother and all of her creation.

Thank you.