There are moments in a creative practice when something shifts quietly, almost without announcement.
Not a departure, but an opening.
My introduction to Southern Guild came in 2024 during Design Miami at Art Basel. At the time, I was exhibiting my Meditation Orbs and beginning to think more seriously about the next evolution of the Orbit Collection. I had been exploring the idea of working in bronze, but finding the right foundry felt like a challenge. I was searching for a level of craftsmanship that could truly support the direction I wanted to take.
Through that introduction, I was connected with a foundry in Cape Town.
That connection led to the creation of the bronze Orbit Collection, which launched the following year. But more than that, it opened the door to something deeper. During one of my visits, I learned about Southern Guild’s residency program. It immediately resonated with me.
It offered the rare opportunity to return to that same foundry, to work closely with the team, and to do so within a completely new environment.
At this stage in my practice, that felt important.
Stepping Away to Go Deeper
Working in my San Francisco studio often means holding many roles at once.
There is the creative work, but also the rhythm of production, emails, and the day to day responsibilities of running a business. It is a balance I have come to understand and appreciate, but it also means that creative time is often shared with many other demands.
The residency offers something different.
It creates space. Not just physically, but mentally.
Stepping into Cape Town allows me to move out of that constant balance and into a more focused state. A place where ideas that have been quietly developing can be explored more fully. Where attention can rest on the work itself without interruption.
There is a sense of clarity that comes with that shift. A return to pure creative presence.
Continuing the Orbit
The Orbit Collection has always been grounded in ideas of movement, balance, and the quiet vastness of the universe.
That language will continue here, but it will deepen.
During my time in Cape Town, I plan to explore forms that feel connected to both natural elements and cosmic forces. Curves, ripples, trajectories. Shapes that echo patterns we see in nature and in planetary motion. Forms that feel both ancient and forward looking at the same time.
There is something about bronze that invites that kind of exploration. It carries weight, permanence, and history, while still allowing for fluidity and expression.
It feels like the right material for where these ideas are going.
The Influence of Place
Cape Town is a place with a strong physical presence.
The landscape is dramatic. The plant life is unlike anything I experience at home. The geometry of fynbos, the structure of proteas, the way the mountains meet the coastline. There is a rhythm to the environment that feels both grounding and expansive.
I am especially interested in how these elements begin to influence the work in subtle ways.
The way light shifts across the land. The pace of daily life. The textures and forms that appear naturally. All of these things begin to inform how I approach material and shape, often without conscious intention.
Physical place has always played an important role in my work.
Here, I expect that influence to be even more present.
Structure and Intuition
I am arriving at the residency with a clear direction.
The ideas for these bronze pieces have been developing for some time. They have been shaped through meditation, through sketching, and through quiet refinement over the past year.
At the same time, I am leaving space for the environment and the process to guide the final outcome.
Working closely with the foundry allows for a level of dialogue that is difficult to achieve from a distance. Adjustments can happen in real time. Decisions can be made in response to the material itself. The work becomes more responsive, more alive.
That balance between intention and intuition feels essential.
A Different Rhythm of Work
The days in Cape Town will follow a different rhythm.
I plan to begin each morning with meditation. It has long been a way for me to clear space and invite new ideas forward. From there, the focus will move into sculpting and working directly with the material.
Time outdoors will also be part of the process. Walking, hiking, simply being in the landscape. These moments help me stay grounded and connected to the environment around me.
In the evenings, I may return to the studio or spend time playing the harp, which I am bringing with me. Sound and vibration have their own way of reconnecting me to creativity.
It is a simpler rhythm. More intentional. One that allows for longer stretches of uninterrupted focus.
And with that, a different kind of work begins to emerge.
The Role of Experimentation
In my practice, I often separate more experimental work under what I call The Laboratory.
It is a space where I can explore ideas more freely, without the immediate constraints of production. Where the focus shifts from refinement to discovery.
The residency becomes an extension of that mindset.
There is a sense of permission that comes with it. To push further. To follow ideas that may not yet have a defined place within a collection. To explore material in ways that might later inform future work or remain as standalone expressions.
That freedom is an important part of growth.
Looking Forward
This time in Cape Town will not exist in isolation.
The work created here will carry forward into what comes next. There are already future projects taking shape, including a large scale ceramic furniture workshop in Joshua Tree later this year. I expect the ideas and forms developed during the residency to influence that work and beyond.
There is a natural cycle between experimentation and production.
Each informs the other. Each creates space for the next phase to emerge.
What I Hope the Work Holds
More than anything, I hope the pieces created during this time offer a moment of connection.
A quiet reminder of something larger than ourselves. The vastness of the cosmos. The beauty of natural forms. The shared energy that runs through everything.
If someone encounters one of these pieces and feels a sense of pause, or reflection, or simply a moment of stillness, that would be enough.
That is where the work begins to live beyond itself.
– Tina
