Ornamenting the Belly is a piece of jewelry inspired by ancient Egyptian symbolism and craftsmanships, that highlights and adapts to the changing body of a person with child. The full-body piece is crafted out of brass, clay beads, and a stone pendant -- incorporating materials and design staples from the past to create a modern form of jewelry. 

As one of the earliest documented civilizations, Ancient Egyptians were technologically creative path-makers. With a deep devotion to life and the afterlife, Egyptians believed it was their duty to honor and nourish living beings, their land, and even the dead, with as much care as they believed God put in to establish a society without chaos. An essential element to this belief system was adornment. With attention to purpose and craft, each piece of jewelry had great significance. Whether it was the material, color, symbol, or even point of life at which a person ornamented their body, jewelry was believed to carry the properties their imagery represented. 

Tawaret, the goddess of fertility, encapsulates the strength and ferocity of a protective mother as well as the abundance and nurturing needed for pregnancy. A part hippo, crocodile, lioness, and woman, her powers go beyond child-bearing. Inspired by the protection, fertile elements, and seemingly ferocious form this goddess represents, Ornamenting the Belly was conceptualized. By abstracting stretch marks, brass pieces representing tiger stripes drape over the belly. Blue and green clay beads carry re-birth, nourishment, and water properties -- connecting the mother to the moon and new life. An ankh, the key to life, hangs in the center of the chest close to the heart. Using hand-made beads, a brass carved pendant, and soft wire, the jewelry will amplify features of the changing body. Rather than cover or distract from stretch marks, the linea nigra, and pigment changes, the piece will adorn and appreciate features society tends to look down upon.