MFA PROJECT REPORT

Keela Dee Dooley

MFA Metalsmithing & Jewelry

Spring 2019

Trappings

Oak Street Gallery

Denton, Texas

April 17-20, 2019

Supervisory Committee Chair:

James Thurman, Associate Professor

Supervisory Committee Members:

Ana Lopez, Associate Professor

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

My thesis committee: James Thurman (chair) and Ana Lopez

UNT Metalsmithing & Jewelry

• Harlan Butt

• Umut Demirgüç Thurman

• Sarah Loch-Test

• The Coven

UNT Sculpture

• Alicia Eggert

• Ana Esteve Llorens

• Richard Davis

• Jeff McClung

UNT FabLab & IT

• Shawn Lopez

• Fab Lab family

• IT Team

UNT CVAD Faculty and Staff

UNT MFA Graduate Students

Triad Product Finishing Inc.

Fulton Metal Supply

Brandon Coal Taylor

Hudson Ingram, UNT Photo

Alison Pack, Radford University Metalsmithing & Jewelry Professor

Lucia Torres, Grandma Lucy

My mother and father: Sally Dee DiRico and James Danny Dooley

My fur-babies: Buster Lee, Bella Dee, Opie & Otis

In Memory of: Chris DiRico, Joyce DiRico, Henry Davis, Andre Motley, Bobby Lee Winkle

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I am from the New River Valley of Virginia, located in the Blue Ridge and Appalachian

Mountains where southern culture has gender expectations, stereotypes, and misconceptions.

Working in what is considered a “man’s world” I challenge the expected role of a young woman

by being skilled in a traditionally male dominated field, ferrous metalsmithing, and referencing

the traditionally male dominated practice of hunting.

The exhibition Trappings is based on the character Dee, a huntress, and her

vanity/hunting trophy room, which exhibits the duality of being feminine while utilizing

masculine skills and traits.

Narrative:

From the beginning, Dee’s mother tried to protect her from the harsh reality of

today’s world “trapping” her inside by planting barbed rose bushes outside her windows.

Eager to explore the world, Dee escaped her mother’s Rose Fortress. She quickly learned

her mother’s intentions to protect her were not baseless, once she experienced the terror

of the Hunters.

Dee became a Huntress, who used her knowledge of metalwork and hunting to

empower women to break limitations set by society. She creates weapons and tactical

wearables to protect the wearer from those who would hunt women. Like hunting

wildlife, these Hunters track and stalk women as prey and have cruel intentions such as

sexual assault, and murder for pride and pleasure. Dee turns the tables and uses

seduction as bait to trap the Hunters, a modern-day femme fatal.

Once Dee experienced being prey of these Hunters herself, she felt broken and

weak. Trying to pick up the pieces, she remembered the quote by Sylvia Plath stating,

“Out of the ash, I rise with my red hair, And I eat men like air.” Out of the trauma, Dee

resurrected as a strong woman ready to trap the Hunters. Like a stereotypical hunting

“man cave”, in her vanity room you will find her weapons, trophy mounts, and tactical

wearables ready for any attack. Outside of Dee’s house you will find her trap collection

and field cam surveillance. Prepared for battle, Dee is ready to end the reign of terror of

the Hunters and bring a new era of safety and freedom for all women.

I was raised by a single mother who worked in the male dominated field of Drafting

while also teaching at a technical school. She taught me that women could choose any career

path, despite society’s expectations. Her professional journey came with several sexual

discrimination cases. Seeing my mother fight for her right of equality in the workplace inspired

me to pursue a career in the male dominated field of metal fabrication.

My mother also inspired me to always be cautious of my surroundings and protect

myself. Even as a little girl, I remember my mother planting rose bushes outside my bedroom

windows to “keep me from sneaking out, or boys sneaking in.” As a young girl I felt like a

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princess trapped in a tower with my overprotective mother. However now as a grown woman I

thank her for preparing me for the harsh reality of today’s world.

Personal experiences of sexual discrimination, harassment, and assault are factors that

inspire me to create tactical wearables. In the South, women are expected to have “feminine”

roles such as motherhood, housewife or caretaker. Because my mother taught me I could do

anything a man could, I often found myself challenging society’s expectations, first through

hunting and then through becoming a metalsmith. The men in my family would not teach me

how to hunt because the women in the family usually stayed home and cooked. This drove me

to learn on my own with the help of a friend. Once I became successful at hunting, I felt even

more independent knowing how to provide food and protect myself.

Feeling “trapped” by these expectations, I began to collect steel hunting traps to use as

a motif in my work conveying my feelings and my interest in hunting weapons. I found these

traps at antique stores, eBay, my grandmother’s house, and some were given as gifts. I wanted

to create an instillation with these found traps (Image 1) to create and overwhelming presence

of control and the feeling of loss. These traps have been used to kill and harm animals, either

for food, protection or greed. Like a hunter’s cabin, Dee keeps her trap collection outside

waiting for the next hunt. Instead of using these traps on animals, they are now used on men

who prey women.

Image 1 Trappings

Found Traps Variable sizes

2019

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My collection of found traps led me to create my own. Baby Trap (Image 2) is a small

double spring trap brooch with a rose as the trigger pad. Using the intimidation factor of large

traps with teeth, I designed Baby Trap to be small and precious with the material sterling silver.

I have always enjoyed celebrating my femininity while challenging masculine

expectations. In my metalworks, you will find roses, lace patterns, and hearts contrasted with

concept, hard metal, and related processes. My choker, The Catch (Image 3), is inspired by the

chain and catch that is attached to steel traps to keep the animal from running away. This

choker symbolizes the woman is no longer held by the trap, instead now she is the trap.

Delicate roses and petals with lace print invite the viewer to come closer, however the spikes

act as almost barbed wire to prevent touching.

Image 3 The Catch

Sterling Silver and Steel 8” x 8” x 2”

2017

Image 2 Baby Trap

Sterling Silver 1” x 3” x 1”

2017

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Breaking the boundaries of industrial equipment and material, I create elegant yet

intimidating wearable sculptures out of steel with the CNC Plasma Cutter (Image 4). Plasma

cutting is a process that cuts through electrically conductive materials by means of an

accelerated jet of hot plasma. CNC (Computer Numerical Control) plasma cutter is controlled by

a computer guiding a gantry directing the cutting head along the material. This allows me to

achieve precise shapes, repeating patterns, and intricate designs.

My work also involves CNC Routing and Laser Cutting/Etching. I used MDF and pine to

create my displays, vanity (Image 5 & 6) and head mounts with the Shopbot CNC Router. This a

computer-controlled machine that cuts material with carving bits and tools.

Image 4 Torchmate Growthseries, CNC Plasma Cutter

UNT FabLab 2018

Image 5 ShopBot CNC Router

MDF Vanity In Progress 2019

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Image 6 Vanity

MDF and Primer Vanity: 52.5” x 48” x 20.5”

Stool: 24” x 16” x 19.5” 2019

Image 7 Vanity Room Installation

Oak Street Gallery 2019

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Being a Barbie girl, I always dreamed of having a beautiful bedroom like hers, specifically

with The Suzy Goose Barbie Vanity (Image 8.) I learned a lot about becoming a woman through

my passion of barbies growing up. Some believe Barbie’s unrealistic figure and beauty pushed

stereotypes of women onto young girls, however my experience with Barbie was far from that.

To me, Barbie has always represented an independent woman who has choices. With each

costume change, Barbie reinvented herself into a new career or lifestyle.

Wanting to create a vanity of my own, I wasn’t sure where to begin. I researched more

vanities and went to museums. Impressed by the amount of silver, “whiplash lines and floral

motifs characteristic of Art Nouveau”1, and immaculate metalsmithing craftsmanship, I fell in

love with the Silver Martelé dressing table and stool (Image 9) at the Dallas Museum of Arts.

Combining the styles of the Suzy Goose and Martelé vanities, I designed an upscaled dollhouse

vanity and stool (Image 6.) The joints are tabs, like wooden dollhouse furniture. I painted it solid

white to give a feeling of memory and innocence, this can be seen throughout the exhibition

with the mounts and displays. The vanity and stool sit on a white faux fur rug and the stool has

a fur cushion. The fur comments on the previous use of the steel traps during the fur trade.

1 “Martelé Dressing Table and Stool.” DMA Collection Online, 2017, collections.dma.org/artwork/5323310.

Image 8 Suzy Goose Barbie Vanity

1963

Image 9 Martelé dressing table and stool

Gorham Manufacturing Company 1899

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With my background of metalsmithing and jewelry, I also use hand fabrication

techniques to create oversized jewelry-inspired linked forms that have movement and an

inherent duality. Empowering women to protect themselves while embracing their femininity.

Heart Trap Chain (Image 10 & 11) and Rose Trap Chain (Image 12 & 13) were both created with

the CNC plasma cutter, formed by hand, then connected with interlocking links. The Heart Trap

symbolizes the duality of being loving and fierce. The heart shape contains trap teeth, inspired

by steel hunting traps, protecting the heart. I put it in a trap environment to rust like an old

steel trap. Scale and repetition emphasize power and control when on the body.

Image 10 Heart Trap Chain Mild Steel & Rust 90 in x 30 in x 6 in

2018

Image 11 Heart Trap Chain, Detail

Mild Steel & Rust 2018

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I began to create extensions of the body through wearables with my first CNC plasma

cut prototypes Booby Trap (Image 14) and Head Trap (Image 15.) Booby Trap imitates lingerie

in a bra and panty like form, while having trap teeth protecting the wearer. Society’s

expectations that women should be sexy and submissive are challenged in this piece being

Image 12 Rose Trap Chain

Mild Steel 96” x 36” x 12”

2019

Image 13 Rose Trap Chain, Detail

Mild Steel 2019

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seductive yet intimidating. I designed this piece thinking about a sexual assault case I

experienced. Had I been wearing this set, I would have been protected.

These pieces were inspired by Rebecca Horn, German Sculptor, Filmmaker and

Performance Artist.2 Her works Unicorn (Image 16) and Pencil Mask (Image 17) inspired me to

make traps for the body.

2 Hope, Claire. “Rebecca Horn Art, Bio, Ideas.” The Art Story, 2019, www.theartstory.org/artist-horn-rebecca.htm.

Image 14 Booby Trap

Mild Steel and Sterling silver Top: 8” x 13” 12”

Bottom: 12” x 12.5” x 8” 2017

Image 15 Head Trap Mild Steel

18” x 12” x 10” 2017

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After I developed my Head Trap prototype that was inspired by the Muskrat Live Trap

(Image 18), I completed a new version that sits on the wearer’s shoulders and is accompanied

by wood Head Mounts (Image 19.) When on the body, Head Trap can be used to protect the

wearer or decapitate the heads of Dee’s victims that are later mounted like taxidermy deer

mounts. Using traditional mount shapes, Dee’s “trophy wall” suggests she is waiting on her next

kill.

Image 16 Rebecca Horn

Unicorn Wood, Fabric & Metal

1970-2

Image 17 Rebecca Horn Pencil Mask

Fabric, Pencils & Metal 1972

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Ellen Durkan is a metalsmith who combines fashion and the art of blacksmithing. She

creates metal gates for the body, known as “Forged Fashion.”3 Her process of creating wearable

sculptures (Image 20) helped me design Booby Trap Corset (Image 21) and Thorn Train Trap

3 Durkan, Ellen. “About Me.” Ellen Durkan, www.ellendurkan.com/about-me.html.

Image 18 Muskrat live trap

Steel

Image 19 Head Trap & Head Mounts

Mild Steel and Pine 2019

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(Image 22.) The corset acts as a trap and or armor for the body, while containing the “bait” that

lures in the predator.

While on the body, the thorn chain creates a necklace in the front then continues down

the spine on to the floor. The sharp spike links were inspired by wolf hunting collars, used to

protect hunting dogs from being attacked. This thorn outfit is also inspired by corsets and the

long trains of a dresses. I have often fought with my family and peers about the expectation of

getting married. This set was intended to make the wearer not approachable and detract the

pressure from imposed opinions, however it does the opposite by drawing in attention and

curiosity by the viewer opening the discussion if this is a wedding train or a dress of power. The

thorns of the corset and train reference the rose bush planted as protection in front of Dee’s

window. The rose bush became part of the body when Dee left her home. This is a metaphor

for my own personal experience of leaving home.

Image 20 Forged Fashion

Ellen Durkan

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Image 21 Booby Trap Corset

40” x 15” x 8” Mild Steel Powder Coated

2019

Image 22 Thorn Train Trap 96" x 24" x 60"

Mild Steel Powder Coated 2019

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After visiting the Iris van Herpen: Transforming Fashion exhibition in March 2017 at the

Dallas Museum of Art (Image 23), I decided I wanted to create sculptural fashion. Her elaborate

designs and structures involved fashion, design, technology, and science. Research and

prototyping are essential in the digital fabrication process. Iris van Herpen experiments by

altering 3D printing and traditional fabric processes by manipulating the material far beyond its

expected limitations4. Moving forward, I am looking to expanding the scope into the fashion

world like Iris van Herpen and Ellen Durkan, while creating performative aspects with objects

serving as bodily extensions inspired by Rebecca Horn. In my sculptures I would like to increase

the scale making human size hunting traps and explore the concept of various traps in life. My

creative process will involve ongoing research of various materials and digital fabrication,

among developing more installations.

4 “Iris Van Herpen: Transforming Fashion.” Dallas Museum of Art, Hoffman Galleries, 21 May 2017, www.dma.org/art/exhibitions/iris-van-herpen-transforming-fashion.

Image 19 Thorn Train Trap 96" x 24" x 60"

Mild Steel Powder Coated 2019

Image 23 Iris van Herpen: Transforming Fashion exhibition

Dallas Museum of Art 2017