I am Jodi Colella, a mixed media sculptor from Somerville, Massachusetts. I grew up in Dorchester in an urban neighborhood brimming with kids and a lot of imaginative play. I’ve been making art with found materials and traditional handwork techniques for as long as I can remember. Working with my hands was a valued skill in my family, with birthdays and holidays being an excuse for my parents to shower us with art supplies. One of my earliest bodies of work in middle school included a collection of flattened soda cans found in the debris of an abandoned building behind my house. I would paint them to illustrate the figures I saw in the rusty shapes - everything from people to fire engines. I remember how disappointing it was when the paint I used started peeling after a short time… my first material mishap.