Yard Sale

Most hair balls were created as a result of everyday grooming and are records of the artist's daily life. Some balls hold more significance and were created from hair cut in ceremony — hair was cut to honor a woman changing, to mourn an uncle's passing, to manage chemotherapy symptoms and fight for life. Some hair balls were created from hair collected from beloved animals. Colorful cotton thread was used to embroider symbols of importance to the family. Different religious and spiritual symbols are found on the balls as individuals in the family have understood creation and the Creator differently over time.

One ball depicts a browning apple core, representing the decolonization of the artist. The epithet "Apple" is used to describe an American Indian who has acculturated into the "mainstream" and is "White" inside. Onondaga Author, Eric Gansworth explains there is comfort in this insult because when an apple's core is exposed to the environment it can't stop from browning. If an Indigenous person can be immersed in their loving culture they too will "brown" and rediscover their indigeneity.

This piece aims to encourage the observer to expose their own core to their culture and reclaim their family ties, land, and history. Once Yard Sale is over these hairballs will be burned and returned to the Earth and Elements and the process will start again.