The mercurial charms of the mirror: on seeing and being seen

Mouth full of petals, veins full of wax: on stealing, eating, praying, and playing with flowers

Bright blues, cursed cuts: on gemstones, worry stones, and her majesty the diamond

Spiraling: on the ancient appeal of shells, pearls, and mollusk-made wonders

Live fast, die pretty: on wearing war paint, faces full of lead, and the makeup of makeup

Dirty, sweet, floral, foul: the rank backstory of perfumery

Women and worms: The prismatic sheen of silk and its fairy-tale logic

Deceptions and damnation: the molten glow of screens, the beauty of stained glass, and the treachery of spectacles

Bone white, paper thin: on porcelain dishes, pale faces, and the complicated act of setting a table

The exhalations of the earth: on marble statues, engineered stones, white lungs, and small lambs.