Kathleen Johnson's "Jewelry"

Kathleen Johnson, found at www.notjustalabel.com, makes wonderful jewels.  She also pushes boundaries to make the viewer ponder her own relationship with jewelry and her body. 

In her own words:  This body of work combines recognizable jewelry pieces with contemporary materials to create subtle body adornments to be worn directly on the skin. Jewelry castings made from prosthetic gelatin are attached to the wearer using prosthetic adhesive; the pieces are then made to look like part of the skin using prosthetic gelatin blender and rubber mask grease paints. Kathleen's pieces aim to decorate the figure in a delicate way, appearing to emerge from the skin itself; to adorn the body while emphasizing the natural beauty of the human form.

I love the photos, but the objects look too much like scars.  Edgy is one thing, but these make me wince.  They definitely emphasize the body's beauty, but marr it. 

And these are closer to adhesive tattoos than jewelry.   What do you think? 

More of Ms. Jackson's work to follow...