Inspiration for a lily for Italy

Before we went into lockdown I was enjoying creating lace jewellery ready for my first Open Studios in May, I was working on a new collection of pendants called sunbeams and I was really  looking forward to being part of the Open Studio events. 

In early March things started to shift and we began to hear how Coronavirus was impacting China and Northern Italy. The impact of the virus started to be felt across Europe and more countries started to restrict movement, and mass gatherings were cancelled. These are testing times for everyone and the last few weeks have proven that we are more resilient and adaptable than we think. There will undoubtedly be more challenges ahead until we have a vaccine for the virus and we’ll be living in this strange twilight zone for some time.

I’ve been finding solace in little things, wandering about my garden at the end of my work day, savouring my daily fresh coffee and making some lace.

The regions of Bergamo and Lombardy in Northern Italy have been hit really hard by the virus. The Gandino Basilica Museum in Bergamo houses one of the finest collections of early laces including gold and silver laces in the world. I’ve been inspired to use aspects of the gold and silver collections in the background for a new piece of lockdown art I’m creating - a golden lily for Italy. I chose a lily because lilies are the national flower of Italy, I also love creating fantastic flowers as part of my work. I’ve really enjoyed creating the lily, it’s been my therapy and distraction from all of the corona news.