Caroline Broadhead

My necklaces are often “double.” In Frilly Pearl Necklace, glass beads serve to portray another sort of bead with a different sense of tradition, while others incorporate actual pearl necklaces. I’m interested in the values that pearls signify and how these values are always in a state of evolution. Traditionally associated with wealth, status, dignity, and decorum, I see the vintage imitation pearl necklaces in my pieces as symptomatic of change. When they are suspended or captured, they are unable to function as they might have done. They exist in-between—an active piece of jewelry and a symbol in transition. Whereas these pieces create a link with the past, Ground Control looks toward the future, enclosing raw amber nuggets yet to be formed into pieces of jewelry.

GROUND CONTROL

Necklace Glass Beads, Amber Nuggets, Thread, Vintage Clasp

Photo by James Champion