A toppled, broken miniature of Nixon’s Oval Office chair signals a dramatic fall from grace, while tiny bottles hint at attempts to blunt humiliation. At right, built from dollhouse picture frames, wood, and fabric, is a crucible for a rising phoenix, its medieval imagery digitally tuned to the palette. Three of the chair’s four legs jut out from the flames — a stark reminder that recovery begins with accepting loss. Hints of gold and the warm glow of a necklace in amber, Murano glass, and freshwater-pearls play against a dark ground, balancing austerity with renewal.

Measured in tone, the piece suggests that, unlike the mythical bird that returns unchanged, people rarely revert to a former state — yet they remain capable of remarkable reinvention.

Materials: Amber, Murano glass, freshwater pearls, dollhouse miniatures, digitally altered photograph, fabric, gimp, acrylic paint, wood,

Framing: Custom shadow box with museum glass in a deep black wooden frame, created in collaboration with Chevy Chase Art Gallery, Washington, DC.