if your nose could speak, what story would it tell?
By Word of Nose offers bespoke and ready-made nose sculptures- endearingly called "Nose Jobs"- by Colombian-American Sculptor Kat Geng-Caraballo.
Our mission is to reconnect individuals with their bodies and personal narratives as sources of empowerment, well-being, and inner wisdom. We celebrate the nose as a powerful symbol of belonging, connection, and shared humanity.
Through artwork and educational outreach, we bring awareness to its impactful role in our lives.
The ways we honor the schnoz
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Nose Sculptures
Visual artist Kat Geng-Caraballo offers custom nose portraits (aka Nose Jobs) and limited edition nose-adjacent sculptures.
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Community engaged projects
By Word of Nose invites diverse communities to contribute to a growing collection of visual, oral and written nasal narratives - through pop up art interventions across New York City - that speak to the ways this cartaligenous feature is central to our lives.
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Art Workshops
We offer bi-lingual nose making workshops for arts and non-profit organizations looking to explore the nose as a source of well being, connection and belonging.
These may be facilitated in English and Spanish inviting participants with varied levels of fluency to learn practical sewing and language skills while in community.
What makes noses so special?
Why not ears and eyes?
I would never declare eyes or ears unworthy but in my noseplorations I discovered some things that made me never able to look at the nose in the same way again.
Our noses are the only sense that is connected to our limbic system, the part of our brain that processes memory, emotion and learning. From my non-scientific mind I imagine this as if my nose shared a living room with all of our memories and emotions, and the impression that might leave on it. This explains why we I can remember the smell of my lunchbox prepared by my mom when I still wasn’t yet able to speak, and the feeling of happiness that arises in me when I do. These moments in our life, connect us to our histories, experiences and the important people in our lives (smell of the lobby elevator in Puerto Rico when
Our breathe. Our noses hold, humidify, a make clear air for our breathe. Our breathe is our life, it is our presence and when we do it from our nose - the slowest way - it is healthiest and has the power to calm our nervous system. The nose has taken care of me in the toughest of times through breath for which I often need a reminder, hence the nose jobs.
Beauty and shame. Noses sit in the dead center of our faces making them quite literally central to our identities and hard to ignore. In many cultures across the world, there are nose that are deemed ‘beautiful’ and those deemed not so. Their form is also quite literally shaped by our ancestors geography and climate (cold climate, narrower nose, wide nostrils for warmer climate. Race
Testimonials
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The By Word of Nose workshop helped me build a stronger connection with my nose, my skin, and my identity.
It made me feel proud of these parts of myself, which isn’t always easy as an adoptee, given the disconnect I often feel from my culture and my people. This workshop wasn’t just about sewing a nose—it was about reconnecting with and embracing a part of me that I’ve struggled to appreciate.
Maddy R.
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![hand-sewn nose sculpture mounted on fabric on pedastal]()
Attending Kat's nose workshop was such a rewarding experience!
The hands on guidance & supportive atmosphere made it enjoyable and relaxing. It was a perfect blend of art, creativity and fun. It wasn't just about creating, it was about self recognition and embracing the beauty in every detail of who I am, a subtle reminder to appreciate the intricate ways we connect to ourselves.
B. N.
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Kat’s nose-making workshop was really fun and heartwarming
I went in with hoping to re-learn to sew (after 20 years) and learned new stitches; got to understand how to sculpt with fabric and soft materials; and most importantly, felt connected to new people that I would not have met otherwise. In these difficult times, sharing and getting to hear the experiences of a diverse group of people, and learning a craft for the sake of learning, was a comforting and connecting experience. I’m really glad I got to join the workshop!
