This was my first project using 3D design software for a digital fabrication class. The prompt was to make a self-portrait that captured your inner voice. Who are you on the inside and out? What is your personality, your true self? This ‘Magpie’ idea had been swirling around in my head for a few years.

My conceptual approach was to somehow visually represent the years that I have been in the service industry, the restaurant/bar world in particular. My life, relationships, community, and livelihood revolved around my serving or bartending jobs for many years. This was the way I was able to slowly put myself through art school. It was a lifestyle that I enjoyed for a very long time until I realized it was no longer serving me. When I dropped out of college I found my way into fine dining, which was absolutely not who I was as a person, but I left that job with a few new friends. During that time, a friend and fellow server gave me the nickname ‘Magpie’ which I liked. That was the inspiration for this project.

This piece is meant to embody the parts of me that I’ve given away over the years. In a way, the food service industry felt as if it was completely consuming me. This is the physical representation of that feeling in a humorous, silly fashion.