Deziree Roth

Deziree Roth

In my senior year of high school, I had decided I wanted to be an environmental scientist. During the winter break of my senior year, my family and I were in Chicago, where my mom wanted to take a tour of The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. It was there that I had this overwhelming feeling that this was where I needed to be. Three days before the deadline, I submitted my application and was accepted into my new dream school.

My work continues to be based on a feeling. It has no deeper meaning; it is an exploration of materials and how those materials can be used and manipulated. I find this feeling most when I'm blending a mix of hard and soft materials in unconventional ways, replacing soft materials with hard materials and vice versa. 

This has expanded into my most recent body of work, “Carving Out Accessories”. This is a collection of functional wood accessories that challenge standard accessories. With our own accessories, we want them to be convenient, comfortable, and to move with our body. However, I wish for my accessories to be a statement and a wearable work of art. Each of these pieces has been a push of my skills as a woodworker and my concepts as a fashion designer. 

I still value and strive to help the environment as an artist, using recycled materials when I can and smart sourcing all other materials used. I am also currently working towards the goal that with every wood accessory sold, a portion of the money gets donated to a tree planted in honor of the person who bought the item.