I have worked abstractly and most often geometrically throughout my fifty years of making jewelry, but my anger and frustration with the current leadership and conditions in the United States, as well as with the war in Ukraine, led to my first foray into jewelry with a political point of view. Conceiving and making these designs, which follows the long tradition of artists taking on leaders through satire and humor, helped me vent some of my feelings. I hope they have a similar cathartic effect on others.

“Abortion Pill Brooch,” which has both political and personal resonance for me, is dedicated to my mother who turned to Planned Parenthood in the early 1950s for help conceiving her second child—me. After my birth she worked as a passionate supporter of Planned Parenthood's mission until she died of breast cancer, only 50 years old, when I was 15. I'm certain she would have been as appalled as I was by the US Supreme Court ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade and led to the recriminalization of abortion in many states. Still, 63% of abortions in the US are done with medications, and so the right-wing conservatives are now targeting those prescription drugs. My brooch speaks to these efforts.The box in which the abortion pill Mifepristone comes is encased in glass. The front of the piece, reflecting the current law, says, “In an emergency break glass,” but the secreted back warns, “Breaking glass may lead to imprisonment.” In direct light, the dark shadows of the words are projected onto the cardboard box inside, adding an eerie depth to the design.

My “Necklace for a Malignant Narcissist” is made from a weathered antique hand mirror from 1946, the year of Trump's birth. On the mirror side I've etched the words he longed for but never heard, “Daddy Loves You Donald.” While he admires his own refection in the mirror, the back face shows the words, “Malignant Narcissist” to everyone else.

Four designs are crowns for autocrats that I made in response to the US “No Kings” protest movement. The first crown is  by the lyric “I may make you feel, but I can't make you think” from Jethro Tull's “Thick as a Brick.” While it appears to be a heavy brick, it's actually cast from very light foam rubber. The gold-plated screw in the top is intended to be driven into Trump's head. The inspirations for second one, which more closely resembles a classical crown, are the Pink Floyd song “Just Another Brick in the Wall” and the barricades of medieval castles. This crown represents the MAGA movement's cruel obsession with immigrants of color and the border wall with Mexico. It also alludes to the mental barriers of the ignorant mind.

My wife is in part of Ukrainian lineage, so two of the crowns speak to the madness and destruction of homes and lives caused by the horrendous invasion and bombing of civilians in Ukraine. The “Totally Unhinged/Hinged” crown is formed from five salvaged steel door hinges. The rusted patina suggests the twisted metal debris that survives when a home burns. "Ukraine Still Burns,” composed of small, charred wooden houses, comments further on the destruction of civilian homes. The wood emits a disturbing burnt odor, while the royal blue lining speaks to Putin's authoritarianism.

The trompe l'oeil “Rebar Necklace,” speaks to Trump's history of building skyscrapers. The necklace appears to be steel rebar, which is used in construction to reinforce concrete, and thus comments on the weighty yoke Trump inflicts on his constituents. In reality, the piece is rubber over an aluminum wire core, which allows it to flex enough to go over the neck. It also speaks to the deception and fragility of the autocrat. And from a strictly craft perspective, I like the idea of taking a mundane material that appears cold, immoveable, and industrial, and making it into a very functional piece of jewelry.

Like so many others, I've had a hard time bringing balance to my life in the current disturbing environment. My hollow ceramic “Fragile Balance” brooch, which perches on the shoulder like a giant pearl, appears to laugh at the laws of gravity and declare we will continue on despite the planet's current precarious state. The fact that eggs are such vital sources of life amplifies the tension of the jewelry.

ICE CREAM, KETCHUP, AND MUSTARD BROOCHES

There are few things more important to me than food and humor. So, my work from 2024 is a return to those themes that I first explored about eight years ago. These trompe l'oeil brooches, which I call “Slobs,” are in the “readymade” tradition of Marcel Duchamp and the consumer product recontextualizations of Andy Warhol's Soup Cans and Brillo Boxes. As a person who all too frequently gets spills and stains on my clothing, I find it amusing to find a way to appear to literally wear those mishaps. One could even use my fake spills to cover up the stains of real ones, thus extending the useful life of a garment. I was honored to have these four designs shown at Schmuck 2025 in Munich, Germany.

Two of these designs are of ice cream. The one on the spoon is in a melted state with swirls of hot fudge, and the other is an intact scoop of French vanilla, meant to be worn as a brooch in the “a la mode” manner. After all, almost everything is better with ice cream. The other two are of spilled ketchup and mustard from the iconic American brand Heinz. The ubiquitous and disposable packets they come in, which are meant to make the condiments portable and convenient, are part of the designs. I'm confident that the idea of wearing them as brooches has never occurred to the manufacturers.

Finally, the Nail Polish Brooch” continues my interest in found objects, consumer products, and making accidental spills wearable. In connection with the political project, it suggests that art can imbue the messiness of our quotidian lives with meaning and even humor.