“I wish I had a bulletproof vest for my soul.” I wrote this line in my journal in 2018. This thought prompted a deep dive into the concept of body armor in which I discovered the photo above of a soldier during World War I. Inspired by the design of his protective gear, I began sketching fantastical armor for myself. I reflected on the questions, “What if I could get a reprieve from anxiety and fear, feel fully seen and understood, or be protected from loneliness and boredom?” A visual fiction story began to take shape in which armor had the power to protect my highly sensitive heart and mind.

To transform my sketches into three dimensions, I turned to the metal I had been collecting since 2016. I began collaging these found metal objects onto knitted, woven, and crocheted cotton. The cotton provided a neutral background for the patinated metal, highlighting the inherent beauty of each piece. As my collection grew, I obtained a book published in 1920 entitled, Helmets and Body Armor in Modern Warfare, by Bashford Dean, Ph.D., Curator of Armor at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. It inspired me to expand my collection and include additional gear, such as helmets and a crossbody bag.

I have spent several years creating Armor for an Artist, a story of protection, in order to bring attention to the reality of my inner world and the reality of our outer world. Each piece, with its fictional protection, is an illustration of these realities — juxtapositions of beauty and sorrow, fragility and strength, light and dark.