Madi Weber
they/them
Astoria, NY, USA
Madi Weber (they/them) or Mix n Mad is a queer artist from Nashville, TN who’s currently creating in Queens, NY. As a designer, their inner child’s imagination comes to life through the creation of bold, bright mix n match jewelry and adornments.
“Madi Weber (Mix n Mad) created these necklaces as part of their debut glass collection, Slippery When Wet, which features their signature bead, a hollow, flameworked glass bead that resembles a liquid mid drip. In this piece and their current collection, they were inspired by the slimy messes and glowing colors of construction sites observed in the city streets. The colors and shapes depicted in their work illustrate their inner child’s daydreams, while the fluid nature of their work meditates on the expression of their gender and its own fluidity.”
"Coned", Italian soft glass and vegan suede, 2.5” x 3”, 2023
What does being queer mean to you in relation to your material choices? Is it something you consider?
“My use of flameworked glass beads as a material reflects my choice to pursue both my art and my queer identity more perilously. Through a scholarship program, I was provided the space to learn flameworking and work with glass for the first time. Starting from scratch, being a student again, I had to confront the reality of being bad at something and having so many more questions than answers. This was my first opportunity working in a studio amongst other artists and I sometimes compared myself and felt ashamed that I didn't go to art school like the many talented glass artists I was meeting or learning about. While this experience allowed me to learn more about my inner child’s joy, it also showed me my inner child’s pain which believed I was not talented enough to be an artist. These beliefs were not my own, but had been passed down to me through a more critical and perfectionistic lens. Through glassmaking, I felt the undoing of this perfectionism and allowed myself to play, make mistakes, and allow accidents to happen. In many ways, this is how I choose to relate to my gender and queerness: allowing myself to play and continue asking questions."
"Caution", Italian soft glass, glass, and stainless steel, 6”x 5”, 2023
Is the work queer because the maker is queer, or is it queer because the subject matter is queer?
“My work is queer because I identify as queer which inherently influenced the choices I made when creating this collection. My work represents the way I see the world and the elements that I notice and inspire the shapes, textures, and colors I use in my jewelry. Since I was a child, I have always been drawn to neon colors and dauntless style. I began to color coordinate my outfits and accessories in elementary school. When I look back at childhood pictures of myself, I smile, recognizing the queerness I have always reflected. In this same way, the work I have made in this collection reflects my queerness."
"Slippery When Wet", Stainless steel and vegan suede, 15" x 3.5", 12" x 2.5", 6" x 5.5", 2023
Anything else you would like to share about this work? This can be an important part of the process, sourcing materials, or research.
“My signature hollow drip bead (blue) reflected in one of the pieces represented was a result of an accident which I repeated and developed. While this bead not only looks like a liquid, because it is hollow, it can hold a liquid after being submerged in water."
