Art isn’t meant to keep us safe in our comfort zones—it is meant to anchor us in who we truly are while constantly beckoning us toward new, uncharted horizons.

In October 2026, I returned from a 16-day, four-state pilgrimage through Brazil alongside my dear friend, metalsmith Carolina Lacerda, and her husband Mario. It was a journey of a lifetime—a spiritual and creative trek across Vitória, Domingos Martins, Ouro Preto, Cabo Frio and Pedra Azul that quieted the noise, grounded my spirit, and affirmed, without a shadow of a doubt, my exact place in the art world. I never doubted I was on the right path, but travel has a way of stripping away distraction and leaving behind only what is pure and true.

Towards the end of our trip, as we were traveling from Ouro Preto to Cabo Frio, we stopped at Carolina’s parents' house. It was there that she handed me a book from her personal collection—a volume she had purchased during her own world travels years ago. It had once been part of the vast library of her jewelry school, marked with an "oficina" sticker on the cover. Carolina mentioned how she truly believed she had bought that book years ago destined to gift it to me, even if she didn't know it at the time.   

When I finally arrived home, after so many days without creating, my hands were restless. I knew I had to immediately begin soothing my creative mind with work.

Flipping through the pages of Carolina’s gift—a European metalsmithing book featuring the structural work of German artist Karin Seufert—Seufert’s technique of building layered, petal-like clusters blew my mind. It struck a deep nerve.   

Lately, my 2D fine art practice—working with soft pastels, watercolors, and acrylics alongside my husband Phillip—has been quietly bleeding into and informing my bone work. But looking at Seufert's structural forms, I realized something deeper: I had been playing it safe. I needed to step way out of what I usually take on.

I immediately remembered the translucent fish scales sitting in my studio—specimens I have been meticulously degreasing and curing since 2023, waiting for the right moment to reveal their potential. I knew instantly how I would translate Seufert’s geometric layering into my own language of wearable conservation. By pairing the architectural rigidity of ethically salvaged Florida wildlife bone with the delicate, light-catching quality of cured fish scales, vibrant red seed beads, and raw crimson thread, the Red Thread Fish Scale Collection was born.   

The Six Pieces of the Post-Brazil Evolution

Every piece in this six-piece collection bridges the gap between raw natural anatomy and high-fashion floral sculpture, embodying a step into new techniques and patient, multi-year material preparation:

• The Coyote Pelvis Statement Necklace ($65): The cornerstone of the collection. Anchored by a clean, intact 5" x 4" coyote pelvis from an ethically salvaged local specimen, featuring hand-clustered fish scale blooms and crimson glass beads along its natural arch, suspended on a 30" nickel-free gold-tone chain.

• The Softshell Turtle Hyoid Earrings ($24): A high-fashion tribute transforming an unfortunate roadside tragedy into art. Crafted from the sweeping posterior cornua of a softshell turtle’s hyoid apparatus, decorated with cured scale blooms, size 6/0 red glass seed beads, red embroidery thread, and 18k gold-plated brass French ear wires.

• The Cascading Teardrop Wire Earrings ($28): Lightweight statement drops featuring custom-shaped 20-gauge non-tarnish wire teardrops with hand-wound double bails, loosely threaded with fluttering fish scale petals and crimson seed beads.   

• The Half Moon Linear Drop Earrings ($24): Modern architectural minimalism meeting organic texture. Gold-plated half-circle studs supporting a 3-inch gold-tone chain drop that terminates in three strategically threaded scale petals and red glass beads.   

• The Filigree Mandala Pendant Necklace ($89): A local treasure find from The Bead Store in Sarasota—an open filigree gold-tone lattice disc layered with fish scale blooms, red glass seed beads, and raw red thread work along the back.

• The Pure Fish Scale Cluster Drop Earrings ($20): The softest, most direct expression of the series. Tiered fish scale petals threaded on red embroidery thread, hand-tied onto

  18k gold-plated brass French ear wires for subtle, light-catching movement.

Stepping Past the Familiar

This collection marks "Post-Brazil Michele." It represents an artist returning home, taking a deep breath, and refusing to settle for the familiar. Each piece carries the story of three years of patience, thousands of miles traveled, a serendipitous gift destined across time, and an unshakeable devotion to keeping art authentic, pure, and true.