I just want to make art that has value and gives value.
I began working with butterflies in an art series I was working on that was about human trafficking awareness. I was working with the idea of the beautiful and fragile butterfly as a metaphor for the victims of human sex trafficking, who are typically young girls or boys, or women in vulnerable populations. After I finished my series I still had some butterflies left and hated to see them go to waste. I was also brainstorming some ways to save for an adoption that we were pursuing. This is where the idea of creating necklaces and earrings made using real butterfly and moth wings was born. This became a side business and a way to save for the adoptions of our two children.
Today I am still working with these butterflies because it is a fun and creative outlet for me during my kid’s nap time and I enjoy making beautiful pieces for people to wear. I have heard from several buyers who have individual stories of why the butterfly or the concept is significant to a part of their story- loss of a loved one, a daughter who loves butterflies, even down to feeling like butterflies remind them of the freedom and joy of life. It has been fun to hear these stories and to share my own. I still save back a portion of the sales from these pieces to either support families who are adopting, or for children with medical needs in China to receive necessary care so that they are able to stay with their birth families.
