Indiana-based artist Brooke Marks-Swanson speaks of her obsessions and observations through a universal language of textile and metal wearable art. Her leather jewelry incorporates knitting, which was invented to shield us from the environment yet quickly became a form of expression. Connecting stitch to stitch, Marks-Swanson seeks to understand the human condition in this time of disconnection. Her pectoral collars seek to protect as they protest, while the tactile intimacy of the leather affirms the primal need to connect to the land. In her search for serenity, the artist is drawn to water as a mirror of the human experience: calm, violent, refreshing, opaque, tepid, and tranquil. Shades of blue, variegated terrain, clusters of metal, and sky-white pearls reveal fantastical landscapes and uncharted waters. Contemporary amulets emerge.
