Tools have always played an important role in my life. Whether I was in my dad’s workshop or my grandfather’s garage, I always had a fascination with tools. As a child, my father encouraged me to explore the use of different tools in his woodshop. As he showed me how to use them, I became the next generation to learn the skills of a craftsman. In the past couple of years, I have been handed down tools from both sides of my family. Most of these tools are from my father and grandfathers, although a few are from my great grandfather. The history of these tools shows through the wear patterns that have emerged over the generations.
The tools are extensions of my lineage that I continue when I use these tools. These tools have become much more than their original intention because of their connection to my family history, to me they have become my heirlooms.
In this body of work, I am using the objects that the tools would have worked on as reliquaries. These containers are meant to be a homage to the lineage of the tool, my family, and the history linked with the two.