Pastel Maggot Enamel Rabbit Brooch

The series of rabbit brooches is largely inspired by the little animals surrounding my rural home, and the shocking occurrence of happening upon the bodies of ones that have gotten hit in the road or fallen from trees. Their faces tend to look so peaceful, which is often weirdly at odds with their bodily situations. I chose to use beads and pearls as the blood and entrails as a way of representing the coexistence of beauty and decay within nature, as well as the dichotomy of both the despair and peace that come with death.

On this particular rabbit, I used all freshwater pearls in various shades of mauve and pink to, at first glance, look sweet against the white of the rabbits fur and match back to the pink inside of the ear, but ultimately, to mimic maggots emerging and spilling out of the body.

I  hand-painted the rabbit with watercolor enamel and fired it to a shiny finish. The enamel rabbit itself is set on a brass backing darkened with patina. The pin back catch is sterling silver, and the pin stem itself is stainless steel. I cut out a heart in the backing so the back of the enameled rabbit could show through the setting for a visual surprise, and as a reminder of the sweet lives of the lost little critters.

*the patina can tarnish and show finger prints with time

length: 2"

width: 2 3/8"

materials: enamel, watercolor enamel, freshwater pearls, copper, brass, sterling silver, stainless steel, patina, thread