Necklace created with bronze and steel wire links with found objects throughout including two stones and a piece of reflective yellow plastic.

"Chance and intrigue guide my making process. Each object I use depicts interpretations of my family's story of loss and resilience. When I was in fourth grade, my grandparents were in a car accident that left my Grandma in critical care, and my Grandpa lost his life. Just as the objects in my work are altered from circumstances and time, that tragic day forever changed our lives. Objects, like human beings, are fragile, imperfect and thought-provoking. When I find the debris seen in my work. I am filled with awe. Where did it come from? How did it get here? What happened to make it the way it is? I feel empathy for these bits of plastic, car parts, and pavement. I am driven to ask how can I help this broken object? How can I support them? What do they need? These are questions reeling through my mind as I interact with the spaces, people, and objects around me.

The techniques of stone setting, methods traditionally used to secure gemstones, allow me to connect these objects and explore idea of interconnectivity, nostalgia and mourning. Through juxtaposing gemstones with the debris, I also question the hierarchy of "traditional" jewelry and what is considered precious. I do as little alteration to these objects as possible, allowing them to carry their history and drama. Within my structures and compositions, the objects are reinvented and have an entirely new life...a new story." - Morgan Lloyd