Roberta & David Williamson

CONTEMPORARY PRECIOUS
St. Charles, IL

Roberta and David Williamson have been artists and teachers for decades, and the course of their evolution is charted in my mother’s jewelry collection. From very early pieces, such as Roberta’s charm necklace that illustrated a joyful and whimsical quality, with bright colors, to her later silver pendant, featuring a collage of household objects, we can see the careful exploration of narratives that is central to the Williamson’s work.

As we arrive at their more recent collaborations, we see this obsession with miniature vignettes crystallize into breathtaking portraits utilizing vintage prints and found objects, or minimalistic pieces that contain a whole story with one simple stroke. My mother had wonderful conversations about life’s journey with the Williamsons, and we always enjoyed visiting their booth at craft shows, where they created their own, hand-made display cases, which amplified the stories their jewelry told into full-blown dioramas.

Carolyn deeply valued both their friendship, their sensitive outlook, and the value they placed on memories and stories. Several pieces that she purchased had a deep personal meaning. My mother’s Chinese zodiac sign was the monkey, an avatar that she took great joy in, and two pieces that she collected feature monkey prints. The pencil pendant that she purchased was a callback to her favorite literary character, Bartleby the Scrivener by Herman Melville. I think she saw in him a strange and wonderful form of resistance and rebellion that she found very compelling.