back it up, back it up...

I've been trying to post my pieces in order, but I got a bit ahead of myself in excitement. Here's two related pieces that I completed in the fall of 2008. During the summer, I had been picking raspberries in the backyard of my parents' house. In the woods, I came upon the perfect skeleton of a deer lying curled in the leaves. In the hot, quiet afternoon, it looked as if it were sleeping.

I couldn't stop thinking about this skeleton for weeks and weeks. The day I left to go back to Philly, I took a big bucket out into the woods and collected the entire skeleton.

(photo: "Osis Mantodea". carved boxwood, sterling silver, ruby, stainless steel, bone, pigment. copyright emi savacool, 2008. photo credit: ken yanoviak.)

"Osis Mantodea" was the first piece featuring a bit of this gorgeous skeleton. My teacher had suggested that I try and invent imaginary bug forms instead of using existing ones. This piece was completed for a project where we had to make something in one week. (?!! Why did I decide to do this?!! I'm a lunatic...)

(photo: "Remnant Curios". carved boxwood, bone, pigment, sterling silver. copyright emi savacool, 2008. photo credit: ken yanoviak.)

I love these little guys. They were originally imagined as pins, and could definitely still be worn, although I think I prefer them as little objects. They are totally weird. One of them is completely carved boxwood, with no bone in it - can you tell which one?