As I have moved through my understanding and perception of the female experience I have come to the resolution that the root of what I know to be true of what it means to be a woman is neither wrong nor right. It is ever-changing, growing, shattering, and healing all over again. There is a comfort to be found in feminine energy, one that I have not always known how to address. Struggling with the confusion of my sexuality from as far back as I can remember posed so much uncertainty in my relationship with gender. The foundation was unpaved and unstable. Up until the age of fifteen I sat in this confusion with the weight of the idea that I simply couldn’t be a woman if I were attracted to, and willing to pursue other women, as that was something reserved only for men. It took years of self-growth and work to move into a mindset of acceptance and comfort in the strength that I hold as woman. Foundation is the reflection of these moments – moments of defeat, grief, growth, and healing. The piece utilizes pages from my personal journal wherein I have divulged the working through of these things throughout the years. The metal that sits around the excerpts acts as a spine and vertebrae to form that structure and strength. The metal forms themselves take on an organic feel, one that is subtly representational of the female form, specifically the vulva. This is more directly reflected in the main component that sits at the base of the neck, a more straight forward tie in to the divine feminine.