Born in London, Jacqueline began her artistic training in 1985 at Harlow Technical College, Essex, where she completed a one-year foundation course in fine and applied arts. She continued her studies at West Surrey College of Art in Farnham, specialising in three-dimensional design with a focus on metalwork and jewellery. During her studies, she broadened her experience internationally with a semester at the Fachhochschule (College of Art and Design) in Germany in 1988. She graduated in 1989 with a Bachelor of Arts degree.
Jacqueline went on to refine her practice at the Royal College of Art in London, specialising in jewellery and goldsmithing, where she obtained her Master of Arts degree in 1991. The following year, she relocated to Padua, Italy, working closely with renowned goldsmith Giovanni Corvaja for nine years. In 2001, she moved to the Umbria region, where she continues to live and work.
Her artistic practice is deeply rooted in a fascination with the poetry and complexity of the natural world. Jacqueline draws inspiration from nature’s inherent dualities—order and chaos, growth and decay, visibility and subtlety—often focusing on details that may go unnoticed by the casual observer. These observations are translated into intricate, wearable forms that embody both visual and tactile movement. Repetition, a fundamental principle in nature, plays a central role in her work, while her compositions are designed to respond to the body, swaying, shifting, and sometimes producing delicate sounds that bring the pieces to life.
A distinctive aspect of her process lies in her use of drawing and paper maquettes. Originally intending to pursue graphic arts, Jacqueline maintains a strong connection to paper, colour, and line. Each piece begins as a drawing and evolves into a three-dimensional paper model—small sculptural objects that exist between sketch and finished jewellery. This process allows for a gradual abstraction, which she likens to a metamorphosis, where forms evolve through stages before reaching their final expression.
Her work is also informed by a deep admiration for the decorative arts of ancient cultures, including the Egyptians, Etruscans, and Mayans. She is particularly drawn to their intimate relationship with nature and the sense of timelessness and mystery embedded in their artefacts. In contrast to contemporary technology-driven society, her practice reflects a desire to preserve the human, handcrafted element of making. Through her jewellery, she seeks to capture a sense of enduring beauty and to create objects that resonate across time, maintaining relevance for future generations.
Jacqueline’s work is held in numerous prestigious public collections worldwide, including the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art (Donna Schneier Collection), the Musée des Arts Décoratifs (Fonds National d’Art Contemporain), the National Gallery of Australia, the National Museums of Scotland, the Racine Art Museum, the Universalmuseum Joanneum, the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg, the Palazzo Pitti, the Grassimuseum, and the Dallas Museum of Art.
