I come from a family of creatives – cooks, ceramicists, gardners, quilters – and I'm fortunate to know a significant portion of my matrilineal lineage. As I’ve gotten older, the feeling of needing to record and document has only intensified. I want to understand how their creativity informs my own, to weave their artistic expressions into my own work. In November of 2024, I flew home to Upstate New York where my Grandmother was selling her home and moving into the downstairs unit of my Mother's apartment. My Grandmother is a quilter and a collector of interesting things. Ever since I was little, I’ve been receiving unique objects from her, usually something she discovered for $1 at a yardsale. As such, I had gotten pickier over the years of what I actually accepted.

These large, dried gourds, with their unique shapes and colors, were too large for my suitcase, but I knew I needed them the moment I saw them. That was before I knew my grandmother grew these gourds. Suddenly, they weren't just interesting objects; they were tangible pieces of my family history and creativity. Her labor was entangled with its creation, and almost instantly I knew what I wanted to do with them. No, they still didn't fit in my suitcase, but were boxed up and shipped back to Seattle.