Relics of Remembrance: Stepping Into a New Chapter

Last year took some heavy turns.

I lost my father about a year ago, and in grieving I turned to practices of honoring and remembrance. After months of not creating, jewelry returned to me in a profound way. Late last summer, memories of our travels to Europe guided me back into the studio. I was struck by a vision of us standing before a relic hidden in a catacomb in Rome, and in recalling that sacred space, I found a path forward.

I began searching for ways to hold past and present together, to let mourning, celebration, and love share the same space. As I reflected on what we value when we lose a loved one, I turned to unconventional materials.

Dirt, hair, fur, ashes, dried plants, wood, copper, silver, rock crystal, mica, beads, oil paint. The ancient love language of relics and reliquary heirlooms was calling me.

Another task last year was completing a home project my father had started. That work compounded the grief, as I had to become him as we faced challenges on the job. Carrying his spirit and energy was a way to keep continuity alive within the community he built.

It was emotionally draining, and I needed to return to my creative outlet. Making jewelry became my way to process, to connect, to grieve, and to honor my memories of him.

The work that has emerged (and is still emerging) has shifted how I want to move forward. I searched for words to give this new direction shape and meaning, and here is a short synopsis of what I want to continue exploring this year:

Jewelry created to preserve remembrance and transform loss into modern relics. Each piece carries echoes of ancient and medieval traditions while contemplating themes of home and the journeys that bring us back to it. Influenced by a lifetime of travel, fragments of history are woven into these intimate, wearable works that connect our past with our present, mourning with celebration, absence with love. Each reliquary heirloom reflects what we keep close and hold dear.

I’ve become deeply interested in how we honor our dead, how we arrange altars and sacred spaces in our homes, worship their images and objects, tell stories as if they were still here, and move through life with grief. Beyond honoring our loved ones, I also want to honor new chapters, markers of our personal lives that hold meaning to us. I want to explore how a piece of jewelry can embody all of that.

Now, I’ve finally returned to a rhythm of designing. My notebooks are slowly filling with sketches and ideas that I’m eager to bring to life. In the year ahead, I’ll continue planting seeds, digging deeper into these themes, and creating work at a slower, more intentional pace. With life’s unpredictability in mind, I’m not yet ready to announce timelines, only to share when the tangible works are in hand.

Thank you so much for being here, and for reading my thoughts.

Take care for now and Happy New Year,

Caitlin