Victoria (Grace) Borrello is a rising senior at Loyola University. A New Orleans native, Grace has found her passion in live theater. For 5 summers she taught at Country Day Creative Arts, a summer program that specializes in Theater and Visual Arts. While Interning there, she assisted in teaching Commedia Dell'arte, Shakespeare, Giant Sculptures, and more. Her most often used mediums are acrylic paint and small glass beads. Some of her mixed media paintings will be featured in a digital exhibition in early June.
One of my happiest memories from childhood is of walking through a “secret forest” with my grandmother in rural Louisiana. I remember feeling like the trees provided not just shelter, but a space that was uniquely mine in that moment. Although the details are fuzzy almost 13 years later, I can distinctly recall the sound of chimes floating through the trees. I recreated that auditory memory using keys from both my own past and my grandparents past. Using beads collected from Mardi Gras and years of jewelry making, I created a wind chime that holds charms that represent different moments of my life. When I look at the windchime, I see an evolving story told in trinkets. The things you accumulate through your life tell a story of your existence.
Shelter to me has always been a utilitarian place of solace. Shelter becomes home when you have made an imprint that uniquely is yours. I believe this piece represents shelter in that it brings me to a place of comfortability.