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Pangolins are critically endangered and one of the most trafficked animals, estimated 1 million in the last ten years. Prized for the medicinal value of their scale, to poachers, they are precious and easy target because they naturally curl up in to a ball when threatened. This past summer I collected broken pen shells from Florida and saw it fitting to represent the pangolin scales with a metallic sheen to symbolize their value to trafficker but also as an armor of defense for the pangolin themselves.  It is sad and ironic their natural defense is an invitation for poachers and does not defend them from greed.

Materials: pen shell, mussels, small clam shell, sea bean and New York burgundy sand