Barbara Jardine has been a practicing artist-jeweller for 46 years.
Born in Trinidad in 1951, she attended London’s Central School of Art and Design, specialising in jewellery design. She went on to do a master’s degree at the Royal College of Art where she graduated in 1974, receiving the Anstruther Prize as student of the year.
In 1982, “The Warrior”, a bracelet carved from ebony and inlaid with iridescent beetle wings, silver and tourmalines from her RCA degree show, was purchased by the Victoria & Albert Museum for their permanent collection of contemporary jewels. This piece was recently chosen as the lead image for a new V&A initiative (Instagram: @vamuseum).
In 1974 Barbara returned to her birthplace,Trinidad, which has been pivotal to the distinctive development of her craft.
Over the years she has become best known for her collectable, hand-fabricated jewels and objects. Precious metals and stones are integrated with organic, ethically sourced materials such as beetle wings, turtle shell, black coral, feathers and wood, as well as resins and pigments—all carefully selected for their qualities of colour, translucency or texture. Innovative carving and inlay skills have evolved within the taut framework of traditional techniques. Ingenuity, imagination, and the influence of her sensual tropical surroundings combine with these diverse elements to create miniature works of art of enormous visual and emotional impact.
Barbara presently lives in Port of Spain where she exhibits regularly and works on private commissions.
Excerpt from the Foreword for “Barbara Jardine: Goldsmith” by Professor Georgina Follett, OBE, MDes RCA, FSCD, FRSA:
“Barbara’s work is of the calibre of individuals such as Charlotte De Syllas, David Courts, Bill Hackett, Reema Pachachi and Cynthia Cousens, all of whom have stayed within the fine jewellery tradition and successfully developed through their individual skill set a fluency of language. In doing so they have produced pieces that give to the viewer work that stands independently as a work of excellence while also having the visual signature and integrity that ensure those who see the piece know, with certainty, the author. Just from looking a the range of work produced by Barbara, you can see the thought process that moves from one piece to another, you can identify her as the author; this is the method by which one can judge the work of an artist of quality and standing.
“All craftspeople should have mastered the silent practice of craftsmanship and material selection, which in all work of the highest quality must serve the articulation of the vision of the individual. They are not enticing or engaging you with their skill, but presenting you with a deep personal visual statement, one that gives the imagery supremacy, allowing the legend to unfurl, drawing you into a space of contemplation, and enabling the viewer to establish a symbiotic relationship through the individual’s personal iconography. Their work is timeless, not susceptible to fashion, for it stands outside the transient and within the world of heirlooms where it will make its journey independently throughout its lifetime. Barbara’s work does this. She is a practitioner, a jeweller of the highest order. Call her an artist, designer, fine craftsperson—any of these titles fit. They fit because of the work she produces.”
“There is a vitality, a life force, a quickening
That is translated through you into action,
And because there is only one of you in all time,
This expression is unique
“No artist is pleased.
There is no satisfaction at any time.
There is only a queer, divine dissatisfaction;
A blessed unrest that keeps us marching
And makes us more alive than the others.”
