Oceans of Suds

I designed this piece as a commentary on the disparity between the way 1950s American women were portrayed and the reality of how many of them felt. The brooch features an enameled illustration from a 1950s Tide advertisement depicting a blissful housewife enamored with a box of laundry soap.

I filled the hinged soap box with hidden silver tablets meant to represent valium, a sedative that was freely prescribed in the 1950s and was often referred to as “mother’s little helper.” The background texture is meant to resemble the foil on a blister pack of medication, and the back of the piece is crowned with a tiny ”Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval.” It can be displayed as an object using the pin back as a kickstand or it can be worn as a brooch.

This piece was selected for the Society of North American Goldsmith's (SNAG) international juried exhibition As Good as Gold, and the Enamel Guild North East international juried exhibition, Under Fire 3. Learn more here.

For enamelers interested in learning more about the techniques used in this piece, see the "For Makers" section of my FAQs.