Dandelion Demon

2024
Silver, copper, steel, vitreous enamel, powder coat
3.75” x 2.75” x 0.75”

“Dandelions remind me of my Nana, my mother’s mother. She fastidiously weeded them from her immaculately kept lawn as their presence ruined the pristine uniformity of the grass. I have memories of spending time with her, watching as she got down on hand and knee in the yard with her weeding fork to pull the dandelions up by their roots. The tenacity of the dandelion to fruit and populate so prolifically was a never ending source of frustration for her, but the desire for a manicured lawn was stronger. This act adds to the image of her I keep in my mind, as someone who kept up appearances at great effort. She took notice of those around her with an air of judgment and was likely concerned that the same attention was being paid to her. In a very relatable way, she must have felt that the appearance of her home and garden was a reflection of her, as vulnerable to judgment as her personal appearance. I saw this attitude pervade other parts of her character and often wonder how our relationship would have changed over time. Beyond appearances, I noticed the ways she judged people who didn’t fit her view of proper behavior, views that weren't entirely transparent to me. Fitting into them as a child made me anxious. She died while I was a teenager, so there are things I will never understand. I never had the opportunity to talk to her about my queerness, as that wasn’t clear to me until some years later. I loved her dearly and we were incredibly close, someone I would want to have that conversation with. I've seen similar people, people concerned with what the neighbors will think, struggle to accept the queerness of their kin. It doesn’t stop people from being queer and it doesn’t always stop people from loving each other. It can take on a weed-like existence, growing where it isn’t necessarily wanted and being both beautiful and ugly, depending on one's perspective. I don’t think I would have been uprooted from my Nana’s life by my admission of queerness. I think we would have shared a love for weeds instead.”

Andy Lowrie

Andy Lowrie is a jewelry artist who creates wearable, sculptural, and functional objects, as well as works on paper. He is an Australian maker living and working in the United States. His work has been exhibited in Australia, China, Europe, and North America, and has been professionally recognized with awards from Brooklyn Metal Works in New York and My-Day By-Day Gallery in Rome. From 2020 to 2023, he was the inaugural Teach Fellow at the Baltimore Jewelry Center. He is currently an adjunct faculty member at Towson University and Johns Hopkins University.