Carrie Bilbo, "We will always find a way"

Materials: Sterling Silver, Brass, Bronze, White Moissanite, Smokey Quartz, Lacquer 

About the Artist:

Bio:

My designs often bring together the man-made and the organic is a sophisticated aesthetic communion. An obsession with intricate details has inspired me to work with impossibly delicate objects that are both naturally sourced, such as the wings of an insect, and recreated through metalwork, like the petals of a poppy flower. I enjoy working with various metals, ceramics, and casting techniques, and pairing them with precious stones. 

Beyond jewelry technique, I am inspired by traveling the world and the personal stories of each client I encounter. Whether I am making a new small production line or being commissioned to design a one-of-a-kind adornment. 

As a Pratt Jewelry and Metalsmithing graduate, I didn't stray far. I currently reside in Brooklyn, NY and work out of my shared jewelry studio space in the Brooklyn Navy Yard, creating small production pieces for my Jewelry line Carrie Bilbo Jewelry and one-of-a-kind adornments for my recently launched wedding focused brand Sweet Caroline Adornments.

About the Piece: ‘We will always find a way’

This project was an important one for me as equality has always been a goal I have pursued in both my personal and professional lives. Can you believe that in the year 2022 we do not have a constitutional amendment making all people equal? One of the cornerstones to the civil rights of women is the freedom of choice to control what we do with our own bodies, until the right to safe and legal abortions is codified in federal law, we will never truly be equal. 

Since the dawn of organized civilization men in power have used forced motherhood as a tool to keep women of all races and socioeconomic standings below them. With the Dobbs v. Jackson Ruling this year and the undoing of Roe v Wade Conservative politicians have made it clear that the pursuit of power is looking to shape America into a Christofacist state will come at any and all expense to women in this country. Abortion and access to contraception are being used as a blunt instruments to subjugate women to further their own goals. With the extreme hypocrisy that if a man in power was put in a situation that called for the safe termination of a pregnancy they would always quietly have said access.

My work has always been inspired by nature, and its paradoxes, like that of a beautiful but poisonous flower. With my amphora bottle I thought it necessary to include a historically utilized abortifacient plant. The flower and leaves featured are from the ‘peacock flower’ or ‘pride of Barbados’. This stunning and unique red and yellow flower is one of the widely known abortifacient plants., It was utilized in the struggle against slavery throughout the eighteenth century by indentured women in the West Indies, who would ingest their seeds to abort offspring who otherwise would be born into bondage. The flower was then brought to Europe where this knowledge was utilized behind closed doors.

As I was designing my amphora I imagined this piece being worn as a beautiful and intricate ornament to outside viewers, while secretly holding freedom, choice, hope, and a future inside. At the top a precious moissanite slice is reminiscent of the eucharist, taking the body of christ as one might take the medicine within the bottle. 

I grew up in Kentucky attending 12 years of catholic school. We were not taught sex education, but how abortion is a sin. They filled us with fear, shame, and judgment when it came to the topics of sex and pregnancy.  A nearby catholic school was rumored to have an unpublished rule that if a student becomes pregnant they would only be expelled if they get an abortion. They could remain in school if they had the baby. Thus making this extremely hard decision for the child instead of letting her make the choice of what she wants to do with her own body.

Nevertheless as women we will keep pulling ourselves up, we will keep on persisting, and we will alway find a way.