Artist Monograph

A M U LT I P L E X M O N O G R A P H A B O U T T H E A R T I S T,

JINA SEO EVERY THING IS CONNECTED

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A M U LT I P L E X M O N O G R A P H A B O U T T H E A R T I S T,

JINA SEO EVERY THING IS CONNECTED

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NOT ANYMORE SERIES

FABRIC + METAL SERIES

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DESIRE SERIES

STUDIO + PROCESS WORK

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SILK COCOON SERIES

SKETCH WORK

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MEET T A

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don’t have a life.

I spend about 12 hours a day, even weekends working. So in a

basic day I would come in [to the studio] around 9 or 10ish and then would go home around 11 or midnight. I have to be here sometimes to make things, but then again the role of grad students is that you have to spend 40 hours a week on your own work. I also take 12

hours of classes a week, teach a metals class for 6 hours a week, and I work in a metals lab for 15 hours a week.

My personality is very far from OCD, my workspace is every-

where and I have to force myself to be meticulous and detailed. The amount of time that I spent in college practicing those skills helped me to develop patience for such tiny detail. Working with metals is

crazy and frustrating. A millimeter off means you need to start over.

I listen to music a lot while I work, and the genre varies from

classical to gangster rapper. But I don’t really watch many movies

while I work, I prefer just music … some people like to do both at the same time but I think that is too distracting.

One thing I always have on me is a phone, and just a phone.

I’m not the kind of person who gets attached to objects, but I have been wearing my necklace for over 8 years. It is a tree. My mom gave it to me when I turned 21. This was a gift I was given because I was becoming a real adult. She gave it to me saying to become a person who is like the giving tree, and to be a giving person. That has been a major influence on my work and the things that I do.

I wanted to go to school for graphic design when I was in high school, but the educational system in Korea is much different, you have to take physical tests like drawing and painting when you go to college. You also have to decide your major right when you get to college, so I applied to the graphic design major and the metals major, and got into both (in South Korea). I decided to go to school for metals, because the school had a better reputation, and that is how I started metals, and I’m very glad I made that decision.

HE RTIST JINA SEO

IN BUDDHISM, THERE IS AN IDIOM:

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verything is connected to everything else. I understand life as a vast woven piece of numerous elements interdependently. My work focuses on exploring these hidden connections between myself

and surrounding phenomenon. To embody these connections I use metals to represent myself and combine that with mundane objects, such as a lost glove or an old t-shirt. By cutting, burning, painting, and stitching, I reconstruct them as ornament forms. It is a process of listening to stories and meanings that are embodied behind the materials I use.

­– JINA SEO

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PIECES OF MY LIFE 2 0 1 3 / S I L K , M O H A I R , B A M B O O T O P, B A N A N A S I L K , T H R E A D, + F E LT

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hese are samples of my material exploration, and it was not focused on making something solid. The way I look at the world, I feel like it is sort of like fabric, like a spiderweb, like it

is almost delicate. They are connected but the connection is so loose that it is possible for them to change and grow. It is very flexible, but at the same time very connected. That is the world to me, if I do something it affects something else and is ever-changing. So when I made those pieces, I considered the red colored pieces as myself, and the white pieces as the world. So I am interacting with the world, but it’s changing and flexible.

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eeting at the intersections of sexuality and art, humor and craft, and fetish and fabric, Jina’s research focuses on

sublimating sexual iconography by encompassing both genders into whimsical forms that arouse physical and emotional sensations. Jina incorporates mundane materials, such as tattered clothing, which are too damaged to maintain their own purpose as clothing, but their fabric scars reveal the connection to the body in movement.

Through the process of using fragments of used clothing, she reconstruct them into symbolic forms that lead the viewer to uncanny experience that evokes the body and invokes interaction. Touching, holding, wearing, and playing with these pieces allow them to formulate their own conclusions on the nature of sensuality.

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NOT ANYMORE SERIES

UNTITLED 2014 / MADE WITH CLOTHING, COPPER, + THREAD 18

T H U M B S U P, T H U M B S D O W N 2 0 1 4 / M A D E W I T H FA B R I C , T H R E A D, G L O V E , C O P P E R , + E N A M E L 19

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onestly, I don’t do commercial jewelry;I’m trying to become an artist while creating my work. I would wear it, they are

meant to be worn and there are also collectors that collect art jewelry that have contacted me before.

NOT A GLOVE ANYMORE 2 0 1 4 / M A D E W I T H FA B R I C , N I C K E L , LOST GLOVE PIECE, + THREAD

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NOT A SKIRT ANYMORE 2 0 1 4 / M A D E W I T H FA B R I C , T H R E A D, O L D S K I R T, + N I C K E L

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ORIFICES 22

2 0 1 4 / M A D E W I T H W O O D, FA B R I C , FOUND CLOTHING, + THREAD 23

V E RT I C A L + H O R I ZO N TA L 2 0 1 4 / M A D E W I T H W O O D, U S E D C L O T H I N G , B E A D, + T H R E A D 24

UNTITLED 2014 / MADE WITH CLOTHING, WOOD + THREAD 25

WEARABLE 2 0 1 4 / M A D E W I T H FA B R I C , C O P P E R , E N A M E L , + T H R E A D 26

I ’ M T R Y I N G T O TA L K A B O U T HOW WE USE

THE BODY A S A U T I L I TA R I A N O B J E C T, AND ASSESS HOW WE INTERACT WITH THESE PIECES, WEAR THEM, AND SEE THEM

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n this series, Jina worked under a material restriction that only allowed her to work with fabric. The reason of choosing fabric

was that it had different characteristics than her past metal work, which were bold, cold, and masculine. This exercise was beneficial in broadening the way she works and expanding her material explorations. She started concentrating more on materiality and trying to figure out the meaning behind each one. The process became more spontaneous and instant, which lead her to a more flexible approach in manipulating the materials she uses as opposed to a more controlled way. She combined metals considering herself and added fabric parts that represent various surrounding phenomenon.

By cutting, burning, painting, and stitching, Jina reconstructed them as ornament forms. It is a process of listening to stories and meanings that are embodied behind the materials she uses.

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F ABRIC + METAL SERIES

ZYGOTE 32

2 0 1 4 / C O P P E R , FA B R I C , + T H R E A D

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or the first semester here [at the University of Illinois], we had very interesting assignments, and all of the grad students

and the director looked over and analyzed our work. They picked one material that is very far from what I work with. They gave me an assigned material to work with for a full semester. I used to work with silver and copper, and it was super skill oriented, bold, and kind of masculine, so they gave me fabric which was the most different thing I could work with.

The assignment was challenging because I was out of my comfort zone. Over the semester, I was not allowed to make finished work, it was more of a material study where I was allowed to take time to work with materials and really explore them.

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MEMORIES 2 0 1 4 / M A D E W I T H C O P P E R , FA B R I C , T H R E A D, COTTON SEEDS, + PIGMENT 35

V E RT I C A L + H O R I ZO N TA L 2 0 1 4 / M A D E W I T H W O O D, U S E D C L O T H I N G , B E A D, + T H R E A D 36

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y work has my own sense, my own strong sense, almost like my own language. So it all has to be similar to get

into certain exhibitions. So something involving the body, sexual language, or materiality must be communicated through all materials. Sometimes I submit fabric textiles to exhibitions because I have been recently exploring the material. When I was an undergrad, the school in Korea was very traditionally metal inclined and technically oriented, so I worked with metal all the time. I was “trained�. Then when I came here [the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign], recently it has been a trend to use alternative materials in the metal field.

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NOT A GLOVE ANYMORE 2 0 1 4 / M A D E W I T H FA B R I C , N I C K E L , LOST GLOVE PIECE, + THREAD

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o it is kind of funny that we are calling ourselves a metalsmith, or when I state that “I’m from metals”, because today I hardly work

with metal. So, we developed the word, maker. So, I would identify myself as a maker; metalsmith is a lot different than what I do.

NOT A SKIRT ANYMORE 2 0 1 4 / M A D E W I T H FA B R I C , T H R E A D, O L D S K I R T, + N I C K E L

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s a maker who finds inspiration in the spontaneous process of working with many materials, Jina finds it fascinating and

thought provoking when material and process are associated with not only physical artwork but also a manner of conceptual thinking.

Jina specifically utilizes raw materials in her work such as wool, silk cocoons, and thread. The characteristics of materials reflect how she views the world, which is oriented from one of the key idioms of Buddhism: the Void. In this concept, the world is empty because everything is interconnected and interdependent with everything else. This leads to the idea of coexistence. Everything changes constantly, interacting with everything else, thus one cannot define certain conditions or stages of things. The void is different than an ordinary concept of blank nothingness or absolute abandon. By using the materials, Jina represents the binary characteristics of space, which is empty yet full. Silk is a mass of individual lines that entangles each other to form unique shapes and patterns within a space, while still maintaining the possibility of later changes. It is a process of listening to the emptiness and creating a new story within the space.

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SILK COCOON SERIES

FROM THE O WO TO LUX SILK ne of the softest fabrics on the planet, shiny, breathable and comfortable, silk has been a highly prized cloth since it was

first harvested thousands of years ago.

Silkworms are caterpillars of (usually) the Bombyx mori moth.

During its 3 to 8 day pupating period, the silkworm secretes fibroin, a sticky liquid protein, from its two sericteries (special salivary glands). Pushed through a spinneret (opening on the mouth),

the twin pair of continuous threads harden when they come into

contact with the air. Next, the silkworm secretes sericin, a bonding agent, from two other glands to hold the two filaments together.

While constructing its cocoon, the silkworm will twist in a figure-8 motion about 300,000 times and produce around 1 kilometer of filament.

Since hatching from the cocoon destroys the thread, to harvest

the silk, the cocoon is placed in either boiling water, or blasted

with steam or hot air, all processes that kill the pupae. Less lethal

methods were tried in the past, such as pulling the silk as the worms spun it, but the worms resisted and bit off the filaments (the longest thread harvested in this way was just 6 meters).

Besides killing the pupae, the heat softens the binding agent

(sericin), so that the filaments may be unwound. Sometimes, the

softened sericin is left on the fibers, and this product is called raw

silk. In the end, it takes about 2500 caterpillars to make one pound of raw silk.

From there, raw silk strands are twisted together until a fiber of

sufficient strength for knitting or weaving is produced, and different twisting methods produce a different type of thread: crepe, thrown, tram, organzine or singles. Crinkly fabrics are made with crepe, while sheer cloth is made with single thread. Spun silk is comprised of broken filaments that have been processed into a yarn.

To get the billions of cocoons necessary to have a viable silk industry (by some estimates, about 10 billion each year), the worms

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SILK RM URIOUS are cultivated. Called sericulture, it begins with female moths, each laying about 300-400 pin-sized eggs, shortly after which they (the moths) die. The eggs are incubated for 10 days. When they hatch, they are still tiny (about Âź inch). Gluttons, they feast on mulberry leaves (although lesser-quality silks are made from silkworms that eat Osage orange and lettuce). After about 6 weeks of constant eating, the silkworm has grown to about 3 inches in length, weighs nearly 10,000 times what it did when it hatched and begins to work on spinning its own grave.

Although a few other plants are fed to silkworms, the mulberry has always been associated with its production. In fact, when the Emperor Justinian first stole the means of silk production in the 6th

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century AD (according to legend, he had two monks smuggle some eggs out of China), he also pinched a few seeds of the mulberry tree.

Prior to that, the Chinese had carefully guarded the secret to silk for millennia. According to Chinese records, the technique was discovered by Si-ling-chi (aka Leizu), the wife of the “Yellow Emperor” Huang-ti, about 2,700 BC. By some accounts, she found the secret after a silkworm cocoon fell into her cup of tea, and as she pulled it out, she realized she could unravel its exquisite thread.

Of course, it may have been discovered by someone else, perhaps a lowly tailor, with the empress simply taking (or being given) credit for it. Whatever the case, so important was this discovery that she was later deified and given the name, Seine-Than, meaning Goddess of Silk Worms; and the silk she supposedly discovered became so crucial to international trade, that it lent its name to the great East-West route, the Silk Road.

Today, China still leads the world in silk production, responsible for about 58,000 tons each year or about 74% of the world’s supply of raw silk. Not wasted, in many places the leftover dead silkworms are seasoned, boiled, fried and eaten.

Still, things may be looking up for the humble silkworm.

Some kindly researchers have recently discovered a method to harvest long filaments without killing the creature. Noticing that when injured the caterpillar will engage in self-paralysis in order to give itself time to heal, the scientists found a way to isolate the biochemical used by the insect to reach that state. By extracting it and injecting it into healthy worms, the researchers were able to induce partial paralysis, after which, one end of the worm’s silk was attached to a slowly winding reel, which successfully gathered the silk. In its paralyzed state, the worm was unable to bite off the thread (as it otherwise would do). The record for gathering silk this way is 500 meters, or about half of that acquired through the

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traditional method.

Since hand-injecting billions of silkworms is beyond unrealistic, to turn this process into a commercial reality, the researchers are looking into ways to genetically modify silkworms so that the paralysis can be triggered by manufacturers “on demand.�

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EVERYTHING IS CONNECTED; THE SILK MOTH AND THE LETTER, ‘W’ SHARE THE SAME FIGURE.

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WE THINK ABOUT

THE BODY W E S TA R T TO R E A L I Z E EVERY THING IS CONNECTED

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uddhism teaches that all life is interrelated. Through the concept of “dependent origination,” it holds that nothing

exists in isolation, independent of other life. The Japanese term for dependent origination is engi, literally “arising in relation.” In other words, all beings and phenomena exist or occur only because of their relationship with other beings or phenomena. Everything in the world comes into existence in response to causes and conditions. Nothing can exist in absolute independence of other things or arise of its own accord.

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MIRAGE 2 2014 / MADE WITH SILK + THREAD 52

Shakyamuni used the image of two bundles of reeds leaning against each other to explain this deep interconnectedness. He described how the two bundles of reeds can remain standing as long as they lean against each other. In the same way, because this exists, that exists, and because that exists, this exists. If one of the two bundles is removed, then the other will fall. Similarly, without this existence, that cannot exist, and without that existence, this cannot exist.

More specifically, Buddhism teaches that our lives are constantly developing in a dynamic way, in a synergy of the internal causes within our own life (our personality, experiences, outlook on life and so on) and the external conditions and relations around us.

Each individual existence contributes to creating the environment which sustains all other existences. All things, mutually supportive and related, form a living cosmos, a single living whole.

When we realize the extent of the myriad interconnections which link us to all other life, we realize that our existence only becomes meaningful through interaction with, and in relation to, others. By engaging ourselves with others, our identity is developed, established and enhanced. We then understand that it is impossible to build our own happiness on the unhappiness of others. We also see that our constructive actions affect the world around us. And, as Nichiren wrote, “If you light a lamp for another, your own way will be lit.”

There is an intimate mutual interconnection in the web of nature, in the relationship between humankind and its environment--and also between the individual and society, parents and children, husband and wife.

If as individuals we can embrace the view that “because of that, this exists,” or, in other words, “because of that person, I can develop,” then we need never experience pointless conflicts in human relations. In the case of a young married woman, for

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BRACELET 2014 / SILK 54

instance, her present existence is in relation to her husband and mother-in-law, regardless of what sort of people they may be.

Someone who realizes this can turn everything, both good and bad, into an impetus for personal growth.

Buddhism teaches that we “choose” the family and circumstances into which we are born in order to learn and grow and to be able to fulfill our unique role and respective mission in life.

On a deeper level, we are connected and related not just to those physically close to us, but to every living being. If we can realize this, feelings of loneliness and isolation, which cause so much suffering, begin to vanish, as we realize that we are part of a dynamic, mutually interconnected whole.

As Daisaku Ikeda has written, an understanding of the interconnectedness of all life can lead to a more peaceful world: “We’re all human beings who, through some mystic bond, were born to share the same limited life span on this planet, a small green oasis in the vast universe. Why do we quarrel and victimize one another? If we could all keep the image of the vast heavens in mind, I believe that it would go a long way toward resolving conflicts and disputes. If our eyes are fixed on eternity, we come to realize that the conflicts of our little egos are really sad and unimportant.”

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MIRAGE 2 0 1 4 / S I L K , S T E R L I N G S I LV E R , STEEL WIRE, + THREAD

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add tactile quality into my work, which encourages interaction by the audience. Touching, holding, wearing, and playing with

these pieces allow them to formulate their own conclusions on the nature of sensuality.

OBJECTS 2014 / SILK

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nteraction is part of my explorations. We all have a body. My work is not about me, it’s about the human being, it’s something

that connects all of us. Are we all thinking similar things? Does my audience get my work? Those are the types of questions I ask.

So when someone experiences a confrontation with the body, everyone can understand it on some level because we all can relate.

I try to move deeper with the idea, I’m still exploring the process.

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DESIRE SERIES

DESIRE ; YOU AND ME 62

2 0 1 4 / C O P P E R , T H R E A D, FA B R I C , P I G M E N T, + E P OX Y 63

DESIRE ; BLOSSOM 2 0 1 4 / C O P P E R , FA B R I C , + T H R E A D 64

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’ve worked with the theme [of the body] since I was in college. I had a boyfriend that I had been dating, and his mom got cancer, stage 4 cancer, that spread everywhere. I had never experienced death from my family or friends. It was a shocking experience and I went to the hospital to see her a lot because we were very close. She had been through many surgeries and had many different holes and pipes placed throughout her body. It was crazy and overwhelming.

After experiencing and seeing all of that, I sort of realized that we have something inside of us. That was the first time that I actually got into the idea. Its been here for so long, and I have never really thought about it before, but there are other organs that move inside of us. So I started thinking about that and I think that that was an inspirational trauma to me. Those shapes really are fascinating, you know? In the beginning, I worked with the shapes of organs a lot, and manipulated them into very basic design structures. Its been over 4 years since I’ve been working with the theme. I’m trying to push it further.

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STUDIO + PROCESS WORK

EXPLAI YO PR I

n college I was very design oriented. Everything had to be well planned, sketched out and iterated. Everything even up to size

calculations were important. The nature of metal has to be precise and super accurate or else it just wont work.

After material exploration, I don’t even sketch anymore, I’m

working with very spontaneous elements, I cut something, put

it on the wall and then start thinking about it, what should I add?

Colors? I’m really having fun with it. For my next step, I’m trying to go back to systematic ways of creating, having a topic or word and trying to gain a design from a specific starting point. I don’t think

changing the process will affect the way things look, but the idea or concept that is behind my work might be different.

N OUR ROCESS

UNTITLED 2 0 1 4 / M A D E W I T H FA B R I C , T H R E A D, + N I C K E L 74

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CONNECTION; PURPLE BEANS 2 0 1 5 / C O L O R E D P R I N T PA P E R , + G O UA C H E

HOMMAGE 1 2 0 1 4 / I N K , B R O W N PA PA P E R , + A D D E D D I G I TA L D R AW I N G

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n 2009 winter when I was in Houston, I was waiting for my cousin to picl me up at the Barnes + Noble. I implusively bought a Vogue Collection Magazine and saw his FW

collection. The whole show was so dark and grotesque but beautiful and feminine at the same time. I decided to make some drawings that are inspired by his FW 2009.

HOMMAGE 2 2 0 1 4 / I N K , B R O W N PA PA P E R , + A D D E D D I G I TA L D R AW I N G

CONNECTION; HAIRY LEGS 2 0 1 5 / C O L O R E D P R I N T PA P E R , + G O UA C H E

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I WA S B O R N I N T H E C A P I TA L ,

SEOUL, KOREA AND I HAD BEEN ARTSY E V E R S I N C E I WA S L I T T L E

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was always saying I wanted to be an artist and a painter. I went to an art high school in Korea where we learned basic school

curriculum, but also had art based curriculum. They all wanted to go to college for art, so we all had a lot in common.

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, L AT I P A C E H T N I N R O B S AW I

AEROK ,LUOES YSTRA NEEB DAH I DNA E L T T I L S AW I E C N I S R E V E

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I W E N T T O S T U DY A B R O A D I N

KANSAS, USA FOR ONE SEMESTER AS A SENIOR STUDENT AND I HAD EXHIBITIONS THERE

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NI DAORBA YDUTS OT TNEW I

ASU ,SASNAK SA RETSEMES ENO ROF TNEDUTS ROINES A EREHT SNOITIBIHXE DAH I DNA

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A N D I T R E A L LY G O T M E E X C I T E D TO S T U DY AT T H E

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS I DECIDED IT WOULD BE O N E WAY TO M A K E I T

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E M T O G YL L A E R T I D N A E H T TA Y D U T S O T D E T I C X E

FO YTISREVINU SIONILLI EB DLUOW TI DEDICED I T I E K A M O T YA W E N O

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Jina Seo is now in graduate school at The Universit y of Il linois, Urbana- Champaign pursuing her masters in metals. I want to thank her for her contributions and participation during the design process. I also want to thank my fellow student, Bella Reinhoffer for being my par tner in cr ime, and my Professor, Matt Peter so n f o r ma k i ng b o ok d es ig n i ng an d b i n d i n g f u n . T h a n k y o u C h r i s t o p h e r H o h n a n d Te d r a A s h l e y Wa n n e m u e h l e r f r o m L i n c o l n B o o k B i n d e r y in Urbana , Il linois for the hand crafted hardcover books and for the delightful walk through. And thank you Lance Dixon from Dixon Graphics for printing this book.

All content can not be used without permission from t h e d e s ig n er, Er i n R o s s i n i o r ar t i st , Ji na Seo. All ar twork copyright Š Jina Seo

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