Materials: Copper, Brass, Green Patina, String, Beads, Steel Wire

I chose to focus my Identity Badge Brooch on being a twin. Growing up, being a twin was a huge part of my identity and it's impact changed throughout my life. As a kid, it meant matching outfits and getting the same presents (I was blue twin and she was pink– we would receive gifts of each respective color). In high school, being a twin meant being the blunt of jokes and being told "I don't know which one you are." We struggled with feeling a sense of individuality, frustrated when we weren't treated as our own people. Now, apart from each other during college, most people I meet do not know I am a twin. It's strange to experience for the first time the way other people are treated when they meet new people: as induviduals who do not have another person tied to their identity.

The first layer of my badge is 22g copper with two carousel horses cut out of it. My sister and I were born in 2002, the year of the horse, and she loves to incorporate carousel horses in her art. I hammer- textured the surface and used wax to preserve the color from annealing. The middle layer of my badge is on 22g copper and has two twin mermaids that are paralleled against each other. I used an avocado bag to hammer-print a texture that is reminiscent of the ocean and fishing nets. Next, I used a green patina to achieve an seafoam color on the surface. The last layer of my badge is on 20g brass. I used brass to get a warm gold tone that contrasts against my other two layers. This last layer has 10 stars on the left side and a small 13 within a libra symbol to the right. I used this to represent our birthday, October 13th. The middle of this layer has the first letters of our name (K for Katie and L for Leah) cut out. For the last element I used pink and blue friendship string to represent the blue and pink twin theme. Although the pieces are riveted together, I love the way the friendship bracelet string holds everything tightly together. The string is reminiscent of girlhood and friendship, things I remember fondly when I think about my sister.