neckpiece

Jacqueline Lillie, who is internationally recognized for her work in beads and mixed media, is the only artist to have received a Rakow Commission for jewelry from The Corning Museum of Glass. Lillie was originally inspired by the early 20th-century jewelry produced by the Wiener Werkstätte (Vienna Workshops), but her interests later expanded to include African and Native American jewelry, Russian Constructivist painting and graphics, Art Deco design, and the wide-ranging products of the Bauhaus. Her intention, she says, is not to revive any style, but to “produce work that reflects attention to minute detail and a subtle use of color.” Lillie’s jewelry often takes the form of neckpieces or brooches constructed of single or multiple beaded spheres, ovals, and squares that she combines with metal. She also makes beaded bracelets and other articles of adornment. The Rakow Commission neckpiece is an unusual work for Lillie in that she combines two distinctly different types of glass products: fiberglass monofilament and glass seed beads. The layers of glass fibers and multicolored beads are reminiscent of the lengths of trade beads strung on raffia palm fibers that are commonly found in West Africa. Yet Lillie’s necklace is a contemporary statement that emphasizes the versatility of glass, a material both traditional and modern.