This piece was born from the germ of a seed of inspiration. I came across the marbled gold seen in the shirt fabric in a vintage magazine and knew I had to put it to great use. It was too special to break up, as I might typically in a Vaquera’s shirt, so I decided to keep the pieces intact, using their fluid, hypnotic forms to deck out this gal in a truly one-of-a-kind western shirt.

As I continued to collect materials, her story sprung from the papers as if by chance: from the pages of a nature periodical, scenes of the ocean floor. From an anthropology journal, fragments of beautiful goldenrod and ochre patterned fabric, which now acts as the earth’s crust, separating the mottled gold riches below the ground from the deep and mysterious water world above.

At her neck, a field of flowers, the land alive between water and sky. The components of her hat unfolded organically – deep navy and teal, statement-making stars, many tiny brassy moons – creating the dark skies rolling into vibrant heavens above all of the earth and water below.

In between, a woman’s face. A woman who holds chance and fate and luck and work in her hands, altogether at once. She is steadfast, she is brave, and she is held up by all of the wonderment of nature that surrounds her.