Red, White, & Blue Adorned: Professor Heather White Reflects on Sabbatical

Written by Heather White

Sabbatical is a sacred time for faculty. It’s a period to step away from the usual demands of teaching and create space for deeper creative work.

I did just that. I dove into my studio and chose to spend my sabbatical locally, working in my Boston studio, since my partner and I have two high school and college-aged children. Many faculty members use their sabbaticals to study abroad or participate in residencies, and they should! I chose instead to immerse myself in my studio practice.

The video Red, White, and Blue: Adorned began when Ioanna Lalaounis, director and curator of the Ilias Lalaounis Jewelry Museum, invited me to participate in the exhibition A History of Revolutions at the Greek Consulate in New York City. The Greeks were celebrating their War of Independence from the Ottoman Empire and had invited several Americans to participate in the exhibition.

At the time, I had begun my Anatomy of the Locket series. The exhibition prompt confirmed that I was searching for a way to explore what it meant to feel proud of being American. I wanted to create a loud, unapologetically American piece of jewelry, something even Dolly Parton might wear. (I had said this in my lectures long before her passing.) I envisioned a red, white, and blue piece that was deliberately over-the-top, with ornament cascading and overflowing from the locket. This pushed me to reconsider the anatomy of the locket itself and ultimately led me to create it with three silver folios instead of two.

I began searching for beads and readily found ones made in China. The thread I found was made in Mexico. The silver I used was responsibly sourced in the United States. Suddenly, the piece began to speak not only about American identity but also about the interconnectedness of the global marketplace.