This article also available on the Queer Metalsmiths website
/kwir/-fôrēə/
queer + euphoria = [queerphoria]
queer - umbrella term that describes sexual and gender identities other than straight and cisgender euphoria - a state of intense happiness and self-confidence
[queerphoria] is an exhibition that invites queer individuals into a meaningful conversation about their identity. Through these written and visual exhibitions, we encourage dialogue around the difficult topics that surround the relationship between the queer and non-queer community.
As we see the rise of fascism, ongoing dehumanization and cruelty, crumbling infrastructure, the loss of healthcare and reproductive rights, and severe climate disasters, [queerphoria] returns to NYC Jewelry Week 2025 to create a space where 2SLGBTQIA+ artists feel seen, heard and free to share their stories through jewelry and adornment.
Jewelry making and craft, historically gendered and deeply cultural, are now more than ever a powerful medium for queer truth-telling. [queerphoria] volume 5: flourish builds on the previous four volumes and explores what it means to grow, evolve, and thrive as a queer artist in today’s world. This exhibition is a defiant and joyful reclamation of space- uplifting artists, planting seeds of resistance, and flourishing.
Volume 5: flourish continues our history of creating dialogue by bringing together individual artists' works and stories, we create a collective narrative. that creates an experience of belonging and community that reflects the complex beauty of queer voices and practices not just surviving, but thriving.
[queerphoria] is not only an exhibition- it is an educational platform, a cultural archive, and a radical act of visibility for 2SLGBTQIA+ makers. This year, [queerphoria] vol 5: flourish is being curated by Queer Metalsmiths’ co-founder Tracey Carswell along with co-founder Sol Diaz and Naomi Johnson as guest jurors.
[queerphoria] is to be seen. [queerphoria] is to be felt. [queerphoria] is to be heard
Queer Metalsmiths is a community where we honor, center, and uplift 2SLGBTQIA+ jewelers and metalsmiths. Our mission is to be a safe space for queer artists to connect and support each other through visibility within the metalsmithing and craft fields.
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We asked our artists how their work relates to the theme of flourish(ing), read more below:
1. Andrew Thornton (he/him)
Wallflower (2024)
“When I was growing up and figuring out who I was, I was very shy. I felt strangely out of place and like I didn’t belong. Oftentimes I’d hide in the shadows and try to make myself small. Once I embraced myself and who I was, I began to flourish and step out of the shadows.” Retail Price: $425
@andrewthorntonartist
2. Avalon Palmer (she/her)
Newborn (2025)
“This work has a manifold relationship to flourishing. It embodies flourishing in material process, conceptual execution, and its relationship to myself. Newborn took on a metamorphosis of material through casting, it began as a lathe turned form, lovingly oiled and cared for, and was, through several chrysalic transformations, reborn as iron. Its roughness is both proof of its ascendance and scar of its making, as we often incur as trans people. It also flourishes as a symbol of flourishing, a cauldron, a womb, a giver of life. To make, and to hold, this work allows you to take part in its creative power, its transubstantiation of self.” Retail Price: $2500
@avalonpalmer
3. Brennan Lee (he/him)
An Offering (2025)
"This piece directly references several elements of my Korean heritage. The cup and stand are loosely based on offering cups used in jesa, an ancestral rite that honors deceased relatives through offerings of food and drink. The knotwork and tassel are an interpretation of norigae, a Korean accessory typically worn on traditional women’s clothing.
I began working on this piece during the early days of my gender transition, when I found my relationship to some of my family members suddenly shifting. Here, the offering in question is not to my ancestors, but to myself: both the current and ancestral parts of me. It is a reminder to myself that my cultural heritage cannot be gatekept by any one individual, but is an inherent and essential part of me. It is a reminder that my femininity and associations with womanhood are something that I’d like to honor and pay my respects to even as they begin to take a more historical place in my life. It is also an insistence that I must ‘fill my own cup’, so to speak, in order to flourish as the person that I want to be. "
Retail Price: NFS, (similar commission available upon request)
@brennanleemetals
[queerphoria] vol 5: flourish works available for purchase at www.queermetalsmiths.com/queerphoria-v5 and will be cataloged on our website after the show is complete.
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4. Cameron Howe (they/them)
Double Incision with Nipple Retention (Buttonhole)
2024
"Double Incision with Nipple Retention (Buttonhole) depicts my chest before and after receiving the titular procedure. The piece begins with the discolored and ill-fitting breastforms held rigidly to the chestplate by the tension of the pedicle, their weight causing the necklace to hang unnaturally from the neck. By slipping the nipples through the hole in the areola the distressing forms can be removed revealing healthy skin with ‘buttonholes’ for each nipple to be pushed into. The transition between states of the piece is difficult and frustrating, but once it is complete the necklace is able to sit comfortably on the body. Similarly, receiving this surgery on my own body allowed me to flourish without the weight of dysphoria my own breasts caused me.”
Retail Price: NFS
@corvidinthewoods
5. Carmen M. Perez - Stoppert (she/her)
Duo (2025)
"I explore flourishing not as a soft bloom, but as a raw, tactile process, one forged through tension, resilience, and transformation. Through mixed metals, bronze, silver, and storytelling, I create one-of-a-kind works that speak to strength, fluidity, and the beauty of becoming. Each piece reflects a journey: growing through adversity, evolving across identities, and thriving through deliberate, expressive form.
Flourishing, for me, is both mechanical and spiritual. It lives in the raw edges, the hand-forged joints, the relics embedded in form. I choose materials that carry history, scraps reclaimed, textures preserved, surfaces scarred with intention. These choices honor the unseen labor of becoming, the quiet power of survival, and the grace found in imperfection.
My wearable works are not just adornments; they are declarations. They invite the wearer to participate in their own evolution, to claim space, to carry strength. My sculptures often reference the human form and explore what it means to grow beyond constraint,how bodies, identities, and stories stretch, fracture, and reassemble.
As an educator and community builder, I extend this theme beyond the studio. I empower others to discover creativity, to flourish through making, and to find meaning in material. My workshops are spaces of transformation, where process becomes ritual and storytelling becomes connection.
In every aspect, form, function, philosophy, I ask: What does it mean to thrive? Not in perfection, but in process. Not in symmetry, but in truth. Flourishing, in my hands, is a radical act of becoming."
Retail Price: $445
@perezstoppert
[queerphoria] vol 5: flourish works available for purchase at www.queermetalsmiths.com/queerphoria-v5 and will be cataloged on our website after the show is complete.
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6. Emma Fischer (they/she)
Snakes & Roses (2025)
“Sharing a smoke outside the queer bar sometimes feels like a holy act. Whether it’s the deed itself, the setting, or the inebriation of those involved, the result is a circle of people enjoying a shared, simple pleasure while entering into conversations that seemed impossible just moments before. A smoke circle outside the bar holds the powers of a communal conversation circle with the frivolousness of a circus, a dichotomy that produces the amazing effect of no one taking themselves too seriously and, as a result, very raw expression. At times, this moment descends into mutual commiseration; a recognition of all the pain, problems and fears that consume us when we step away from this hallowed ground. In other moments, the circle becomes a sounding board for our grandest and silliest fantasies.
This piece was born out of time spent smoking outside Cubbyhole on their trans nights, discussing everything from our wildest aspirations for the future to the silly little accessories we hoped to have once we got there (like a sexy cigarette holder). Queer flourishing is engaging in collective queer imagination, whether that be for grand future plans or even for something as simple as the nature of our future smoke sessions. Queer flourishing begins with dreaming alongside your community members about the future and what it could look like, regardless of the magnitude of importance. Perhaps even in defiance of the magnitude of importance, for achieving our smallest, silliest dreams allows us to believe in bigger dreams that we cannot yet see the road to.
I view this piece as being born from this energy of collective imagination and an acknowledgement that, while I cannot deliver my community out of this hellscape we find ourselves in, I will never stop thinking of ways to effectuate the dreams I hear echoed in these circles. To dream of a future is to internalize that the future will exist, such that by our very wills we can imagine our (silly or serious) future into existence.”
Retail Price: NFS
@wayward.crow
7. Gideon Hermann (they/he)
Lessons of the Hand (2025)
"From my father, I inherited resourcefulness, a knack for understanding how things work, a deep curiosity about the world, and a model of masculinity rooted in kindness and generosity. These traits shaped me, and they continue to sustain my creative practice. Yet flourishing, for me, also means discerning which parts of that inheritance to carry forward and which to dismantle. While I embrace his persistence and generosity, I refuse to inherit the beliefs that deny me recognition as a trans person. I refuse beliefs that put immigrants at risk, expand systems of policing and violence, or accept exploitation as inevitable. To flourish in inheritance is to reimagine it—to carry forward what nurtures me and those around me, while dismantling what causes harm. In this way, flourishing becomes not a passive continuation, but an active commitment: to growth, to care, and to creating a world where more of us can survive and thrive.
[queerphoria] vol 5: flourish works available for purchase at www.queermetalsmiths.com/queerphoria-v5 and will be cataloged on our website after the show is complete.
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Alongside this reckoning with family, I turn to nature as another guide, especially in understanding what it means to flourish despite hardship. The weathered wood with moss included in this piece recalls camping trips with my father, but it also points to renewal, resilience, and the quiet persistence of life. Moss thrives in overlooked, difficult places such as cracks, ruins, and damp corners where little else can grow. It flourishes in adversity, adapting to what the world offers while quietly asserting its presence. As this world feels darker and more terrifying by the day, I am drawn to moss and other plants that survive and thrive in harsh conditions. They model a form of flourishing that is not dependent on ease or recognition, but on persistence, resourcefulness, and the courage to grow where others cannot. In this way, moss becomes both metaphor and mentor: a reminder that survival and growth are possible even in the most unlikely circumstances, and that life—like creativity, like identity—can take root and thrive in unexpected spaces."
Retail Price: NFS
@gideonhermannjewelry
8. Grant Turner (he/him)*
a. but if you shut the fuck up i’d miss you :(
2024
b. if only the knight sky saw that :(
2025
c. Idht2tutbiturcute (i didn’t have time to tell you this but i think your cute)
2024
"Without my work I would still be in some bed. After I earned my undergraduate degree, I had several sets of seizures resulting in my hospitalization. My seizures strike me in my unconscious mind while I sleep, making me unaware that I was epileptic. After my official diagnosis, I was very fortunate to be awarded two artist residencies, allowing me to continue to grow my portfolio while gaining important instructor skills.
The first residency was at Pocosin Arts and the second one was at Arrowmont. While at Arrowmont, I had a set of breakthrough seizures, prompting my doctors to request that I leave the residency. I declined, hoping I would make it through the rest of the program unscathed. Thankfully, I did. Through this whole process of discovering my nocturnal seizures and traveling to my residencies, I have found that my work has helped me grow the most. It has given me the most strength and protection. I know I got out of that bed to keep making—not just for me but for others too."
Retail Prices: NFS
@gartslap
9. Isabella Clark (they/she)
Topsy Toad/Static (2023)
"Although most of my work focuses on the dangerous stereotypes of Black femme individuals, there is always a silver lining to my pieces. All of my pieces have a hint of playfulness to them that challenges the audience to think differently. For example, when picking up my dolls, one
[queerphoria] vol 5: flourish works available for purchase at www.queermetalsmiths.com/queerphoria-v5 and will be cataloged on our website after the show is complete.
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side will always cover the other. Each side is a one-dimensional caricature that contradicts the other, where only one can be hidden away.
However, maybe we should ask why we should pick one stereotype over another? When thinking of Black, queer, femme individuals, instead of placing us into categories, start deconstructing stereotypes that you have in your mind. We are beautifully multi-dimensional individuals who exist outside of white cishet patriarchy. By starting these discussions and breaking down these harmful ideas of womanhood and sexuality, we can begin to live in a world where we can truly flourish.”
Retail Price: $1550
@isabella_clark.art
10. Jay Reddish (he/they)
Quercus spilth (2025)
"Quercus Spilth aligns with [queerphoria]’s vision by transforming what is discarded into something vital, beautiful, and alive. Cast from reclaimed electrical cable, aluminum cans, and strung on reclaimed brass wire, the necklace’s sandcast bronze forms echo the voids and weathered hollows of live oak trees—spaces of absence reimagined as sites of strength and flourishing.
The suspended rings shift with the body’s movement, grounding the wearer in the spiraling growth of the oak and reminding us of resilience through change. True to its name—Quercus (oak) and spilth (filth, rubbish)—the piece reclaims waste as renewal, filth as fertile ground.
In this way, Quercus Spilth embodies queer survival and joy: raw yet refined, fragile yet enduring, a reclamation of space and material that mirrors queer flourishing in the face of erasure." Retail Price: $765
@foresttrollart
11. kiseno (he/him)
Dignity (2025)
"Violence against our LGBTQ+ community is a persistent and devastating problem affecting people around the world. Hate speech and discrimination can have serious consequences, from harassment and physical violence to social exclusion and marginalization.
However, the LGBTQ+ community has demonstrated great resilience and resilience in the face of adversity. Through organizing, activism, and solidarity, we have made significant progress in the fight for our rights and dignity.
The LGBTQ+ resilience is a testament to the strength and determination of our community. Together, we can continue to fight for a more just and equitable world for all." Retail Price: $250
@kisenoart
[queerphoria] vol 5: flourish works available for purchase at www.queermetalsmiths.com/queerphoria-v5 and will be cataloged on our website after the show is complete.
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12a. Lily Marylander (she/her)
a. Cymbidium Passio
2025
b. Phaelenopsis Dilectio
2025
"My diptych of orchid bolo ties interprets the body as a site where both suffering and sensuality coexist. Drawing inspiration from Georgia O’Keeffe, alternative aesthetics, and queer culture, I created pierced petals to evoke chosen pain and self-expression with a distinctly sapphic undertone. The act of piercing transforms the orchid into a metaphor for resilience, echoing the ways queer bodies reclaim agency through practices of adornment and modification.
Orchids themselves symbolize rare beauty and adaptability, known for their ability to flourish in diverse and often hostile environments. By reimagining these flowers through the more androgynous format of a bolo tie—an accessory historically associated with masculinity and now reclaimed within contemporary fashion—I connect their adaptability to the queer body’s capacity to endure, transform, and thrive despite constraints. The works suggest that flourishing is not always a simple state but sometimes a negotiation of tension, like a plant growing through concrete cracks.
The two works in this series embody different facets of flourishing. Cymbidium passio (“passion” or “suffering”) burns with pointed, red petals, evoking fiery lust and the possibility of pain that comes with desire. Phalaenopsis dilectio (“affection” or “love”) softens into rounded, blue forms that embody fluidity, care, and tenderness. Together, the pair represents the spectrum of love and growth. And how thriving requires embracing both intensity and vulnerability."
Retail Prices: NFS
@art.inv4sian
13. Madi Weber (they/them)
Beyond (2025)
“To flourish is to thrive beyond mere survival. It is to continue growing and evolving despite so many obstacles. It is to be joyful amongst so much pain. For many of my adult years, I had forgotten how to play, to be curious, and to simply act on that curiosity. Through connecting with my queerness and to my truest self, I have allowed myself to reach for joy and pleasure beyond survival.
This work was a way for me to continue playing with color, with shape and form, with the ways I want to adorn my body. I used to conform to the ways I thought I was supposed to look, to the ways my clothes should fit, to the ways my hair should be cut, but now I get to play and find joy in the ways I accessorize and make myself look more like me by the things I wear. This work is a reflection of that progress and showing the world your truest self is a reflection of flourishing.” Retail Price: $425
@mixnmad
[queerphoria] vol 5: flourish works available for purchase at www.queermetalsmiths.com/queerphoria-v5 and will be cataloged on our website after the show is complete.
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14. Marissa Erickson (she/they)
I don’t think I’ve ever noticed (2025)
“This work was made from a place of both my own adoration of people and what makes us human, and from a place of urgency for our world/culture to remember our power as a collective, to see the beauty of another, especially in those who we think we have nothing in common with. In this way, the work brings about a flourishing within, a flourishing between people, and ultimately a chance to change the things about us that hinder our ability to flourish together.”
Retail Price: NFS
@prairieteeth
15. Martina Kocianova (she/her)
Ball and a chain (2025)
"To flourish as an artist is to recognise the privilege of living from my practice. After years of going through the trenches, I now hold the freedom to create and share work that reflects my truth. This freedom is the most beautiful form of flourishing I have experienced. Through my art I want to connect to voices and people who share similar identities, ideologies, and desires to escape a binary, confined world.
My work grows from my queer identity, though queerness for me is never fixed. It is fluid, in constant transformation, like mycelium itself, adapting, regenerating, always becoming. At this moment, I find myself navigating a deeply personal tension: I am in a loving relationship with a man, my person. Being in a long-term relationship where I see a future often makes me question how my identity will evolve. How do I continue to connect with my queerness, even within a relationship that others may read as ‘straight’?
This is a question I will carry in the coming years, through community, reading, observing my own thoughts, and honouring the growth that has led me here. Gender doesn’t connect us, love does. Still, I wonder how to resist being reduced to the identity of my partner, as so often happens when bisexual or pan people are spoken of only through the lens of who they are with. This is not who I want to become. I believe flourishing means holding space for contradictions, refusing to erase parts of myself, and choosing growth in complexity rather than reduction.
More than a year ago, I went through a traumatic incident of sexual assault, one that deeply impacted my relationship to sexuality and intimacy. I choose to honour the fact that I am still here, that I have endured, and that I can see the strength in myself. Flourishing for me also means looking back at pain and recognising the resilience that has grown from it, feeling proud of how much I have survived and how I can still access happiness and gratefulness, and how much I continue to grow.
In my practice, I carve, scar, and sculpt mushroom mycelium, working with a process I call scarring over, in which the mycelium heals and regrows. This act of marking and regeneration mirrors my own lived experience: scars and growth, fragility and resilience, transformation and flourishing. For me, to flourish is to honour complexity, to live in joy while acknowledging
[queerphoria] vol 5: flourish works available for purchase at www.queermetalsmiths.com/queerphoria-v5 and will be cataloged on our website after the show is complete.
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struggle, to claim space in a world that longs to simplify us, and to show queerness not as limitation but as fertile ground for growth."
Retail Price: NFS
@martikocianova
16. Megan Laura Brooks (they/them)
Monstress in becoming (2025)
“I find myself fixating on objects of adornment because they directly reflect our sense of self through their proximity to the body. The persona I inhabit allows me to tap into her peculiar logic system where what is beautiful and strange is tenderly crafted into the objects that surround her. Object by object, she is piecing together a lush, ultra-queer world, one that is erotic and visceral. Flamboyant lines, heart motifs, and bodily forms reoccur in celebratory excess. I find queerness in this by reveling in what is at once appealing and unappealing–what forgoes prototypical boundaries of an attractive object.
The recurring motif of the heart form draws on the kitsch symbol but also on the shape as it naturally occurs in food, the bodily, and fauna. By pushing the shape away from its most common depiction, it is married with the grotesque and othered, and yet still recognizable as a symbol of love. The expansive associations celebrate what is complicated and bizarre: all things are true at once.”
Retail Price: $980
@nutmeghamm
17. Mia Ferraro (they/them)
Sweet Tooth (2025)
“These dentures, acquired from a friend whose affinity for oddities blossomed from her days as a medical student, are proof that even when humans decay, we cling to life by manufacturing the proof of it ourselves. We dream of flourishing, and therefore have found ways, no matter how artificial, to create an image of ourselves in our prime.
Each cast has more and more teeth missing, however, representing the inevitability of decay. The flosser acts as a universal symbol of dentistry and care, but also as another manufactured grooming tool used to upkeep the human body. Romanticizing beauty routines and smile lines can only push death so far away from us. This piece uses industrial practices, wax casting, to explore how manufacturing in metal translates to other areas of industry and if these objects, without their human partner, translate as objects of the living or morbid reminders of the dead.” Retail Price: $700
@4rtby_mia
18a. Mia Kaplan (she/her)
a. Pinwheel Brooch
2025
[queerphoria] vol 5: flourish works available for purchase at www.queermetalsmiths.com/queerphoria-v5 and will be cataloged on our website after the show is complete.
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b. Flower Brooch
2025
“These two pieces explore wonder and whimsy by rendering playful moments in metal. They are an embodiment of flourishing because of their joyful and uplifting nature. They are both brooches, and adorning oneself with them is intended to make you elevated, special, and treasured. The movement in the brooches makes wearing them an interactive and uniquely personal experience. The flower relates to the growth, blossoming, and beauty that comes with flourishing. The pinwheel represents nostalgic enjoyment, and that childhood happiness is another way we may flourish.”
Retail Prices:
Flower Brooch: NFS
Pinwheel Brooch: $280
@miakaplanmakes
19. Rodrigo Ormachea (he/him)
the cracks we sow (2025)
“I created the cracks we sow in particular for flourish to highlight my unwavering support for the Palestinian people. Witnessing the continued genocide alongside the constant barrage endured by queer people world wide, it became important to draw the correlation of oppression amongst
all marginalized communities. It feels that even as the world burns and falls apart, even in the most desolate of places, we witness seeds growing. Using the broken earthenware as the broken cracks that house the seeds, the gemstones and gold represent the testament of perseverance and the solidarity amongst neighboring communities.”
Retail Price: $2,800
@rormache
20. S Sanchez (they/them)*
Double €aguar Rattle (2025)
"The way I envision my works’ most ideal display is buried deep in the earth transformed by pressure and time. Each piece would be ancient, tarnished, worn, and wisened by the soil. This transformation through time is where I see the flourish in my work.
I know I will never see this change take place in my lifetime. Even so, I hope that now and far in the future my pieces can be understood as a reflection of Queer people who continued to flourish even under persecution."
Retail Price: NFS
@ssanchezjewelry
21. Thorne Rose Dobbs (they/he/she)
Dress Code (2025)
"Dress Code is a mesh sculpture with mixed media components bonded together to represent my first conscious experience of bodily shame along with my genderqueer experience that I
[queerphoria] vol 5: flourish works available for purchase at www.queermetalsmiths.com/queerphoria-v5 and will be cataloged on our website after the show is complete.
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later identified and embraced. This sculpture is a replica of a pajama set I owned as a child, and it was the first piece of clothing I remember being dress coded in. I specifically remember loving this set of PJs because it made my body look like a box and it lacked flowers or lace like so many other pairs of “girls” pajamas that I owned.
At the time, I didn’t realize that those pajamas made me feel affirmed in an identity I didn’t have words for, and that feeling was an early part of my genderqueer discovery. When I was dress-coded, I couldn’t understand why other kids with similar style clothing weren’t apprehended, thus developing a new sense of self consciousness. I made this piece not just for myself, but for the many kids, specifically trans youth who are harassed in their daily life.
Although Dress Code is a nod to a bad experience, I processed that experience as an out, genderqueer individual for activism in a time where trans existence is being scrutinized. Despite the backlash that trans people face daily on how we present ourselves, we still choose to wear the things that affirm our identity regardless of what's expected to pass in the binary or otherwise. With national disdain and new legislation that’s actively harming both adult and youth trans people, I’ve seen, experienced, and witnessed trans people flourish in the midst of adversity."
Retail Price: $2,500
@idobbsshop
22. Trevor Mock (they/them)
Tainted (Set)
"My foray into jewelry has gone hand in hand with my exploration of queer sexuality, from braving the wilds of twitter (baring myself in ways I never thought I would) to my experiences on OnlyFans, sharing intimate moments with complete strangers. Embracing and exploring my sexuality through these experiences of crass tenderness have allowed me to feel a sense of calm and self acceptance in myself as a whole.
This collection is about flourishing through openness. The image used in these pieces is a self-portrait, showing my sexuality in a way that feels honest and unguarded. Creating these pieces has meant letting go of fears about being too visible or too much, and instead embracing shameless sexual expression and connection.
There's something powerful about making beautiful, shiny objects that tell stories that your stuffy Aunt Kathy would view as totally degenerate. They function as jewelry people can wear, but they also carry meaning about queer identity and sexual freedom. When I put these pieces out there, I'm hoping other queer people might see them and feel a little more permission to be open about who they are too.
The work also shows how I've been growing as a jeweler. This collection brings together skills I've been developing and refining over time – techniques that keep getting stronger as I put more love and attention into them.
[queerphoria] vol 5: flourish works available for purchase at www.queermetalsmiths.com/queerphoria-v5 and will be cataloged on our website after the show is complete.
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Personal growth and technical growth have happened together through this work. Learning to be more open about my sexuality has pushed me to be bolder in my artistic choices, while developing better jewelry making skills has given me more ways to express what I want to say. The collection represents a kind of blooming, taking things that might have stayed private and turning them into something beautiful that can be worn and shared. It's about the confidence that comes from being seen and the satisfaction of making work that feels genuinely mine." Retail Prices:
Bracelet: $500; Brooch: $300; Ring: $200; Pendant: $100; Whole set: $1,100 @gilty_boy
23. Vega Vosbeek (they/she)
SHED (2025)
"In a moment when trans people and our bodies are being violently politicized, it can be hard to imagine a world beyond our immediate survival. We are forced to fight for rights like medicine and restroom access, so intimately tied to our corporeality. SHED is a piece of my collective worldbuilding, designed to imagine futures into being and recenter the sacredness of the trans body. It is a meditation on transformation and remembrance, a prayer to flourishing as future ancestors.
The centerpiece incorporates snake shed and dried sphagnum moss from an Irish peat bog. Both are symbols of transformation. Both are medicine themselves. In the bog, sphagnum moss creates an environment so acidic and anaerobic that nothing else can live, and yet nothing fully dies. Bodies are mummified, sacrificial treasures are preserved, and instead of decomposing, the moss becomes peat that is burned for light and warmth.
As trans people, we know this liminal space between life and death all too well. In conditions not fit for our survival (or designed against it), we insist on creating life – on flourishing. We shed our skin time and time again to adapt to this growth. This piece holds an amulet encased in glass and metal. The fractal forms growing out of it wrap the body like moss, preserving its form for future generations. Ultimately, this piece reflects my hope and belief that our community will flourish so far into the future that our existence is mythologized and our people rightly deified." Retail Price: NFS
@j3miniii
24. Wren Schulz (they/he)
Tracing Waypoints (2025)
“I am a firm believer that at the core of queer identity is community. I think that it is incredibly hard to flourish without building and sustaining relationships with other queer individuals, but I also think that a large part of what makes our community so beautiful is that it is built off the need to create new support networks. We flourish because we have faced adversity, and it draws us together rather than further apart.
[queerphoria] vol 5: flourish works available for purchase at www.queermetalsmiths.com/queerphoria-v5 and will be cataloged on our website after the show is complete.
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This piece honours all the relationships in my life that have led me to who I am, and where I am, today. It exists as a bolo tie because I think a lot about the weight of identity, especially in today’s society, and what it means to express it – to actively acknowledge the good, the bad, the ugly and to show them proudly – to put them on and tighten them around your neck. I think of my identity sometimes as a moldable entity – not easily impressionable but still marked by the fingerprints of those I encounter, whether for the better or worse. My identity today is a result of so many fingerprints, some I flourish because of, some I flourish in spite of, but all necessary in making me blossom into who I am and see myself to be.”
Retail Price: $500
@wrenschulz
25. Wyatt NP (he/him)
Upstream (2025)
“Trout as a species are extremely resilient cold water fish. However, if a water body is depleted of oxygen levels, with no cool deep pockets to recede into their livelihood can be at stake. Most people don’t think of fish as resilient, hardy creatures, though Salmonids such as Brook Trout and Salmon have key memories in their biology that leads them to their natal waters, driving them to make the journey upstream through countless obstacles to continue on for generations.
Resilience is often found in nature, and when these optimal living conditions are met, they can flourish. Currently as a nation we are amidst a crisis. Seemingly everyone is affected and we as humans are not alone in this. While conservatives talk of hunting and fishing as favored sports,
they have found shortcomings in their resource hungry elected officials ready to sell any protected lands and waters in our nation for development and cash. The current administration does not care for the creatures on our lands, in our waters or for the minorities so deeply affected by the bills and laws coming into effect every waking day.
When given the time, space and conditions, trout can flourish and survive. With water temperatures (even in Maine) on the rise and a month-long ongoing drought, they are currently under a massive amount of stress. Though they find those cool, deep pockets, swim upstream and band together for better survival. I love that we share a common ground with them. Trans people are continually being demonized in the news, laws being written to take away the sliver of rights we possess, yet we persist by coming together to support one another, survive and maybe even flourish.”
Retail Price: $500
@thatbeltbuckleguy
[queerphoria] vol 5: flourish works available for purchase at www.queermetalsmiths.com/queerphoria-v5 and will be cataloged on our website after the show is complete.
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Curators’ Work:
Tracey Carswell (they/them)
Every day is TDOR (2025)
Retail Price: NFS
@powerfulinpinkbytlc
Sol Diaz (they/them)
Tools of Ancestral Renovation (2025)
Retail Price: $650
@soeliastudio
Naomi Johnson (they/she)
from the same cloth (2025)
Retail Price: NFS
@metalpetaljewelry
[queerphoria] vol 5: flourish works available for purchase at www.queermetalsmiths.com/queerphoria-v5 and will be cataloged on our website after the show is complete.