Jessica Starkel holds an MFA in jewelry and metalsmithing from the Rhode Island School of Design and her BFA from Nebraska Wesleyan University. Starkel’s cast silicone rubber jewelry is an investigation into adorning our bodies with repulsive materials. By combining opalescent rubber with imbedded gemstones, she references the beautiful and the decorative, while conjuring uncomfortable notions of foreign objects under the skin. She wants to stir a sense of repulsion and desire within the wearer of her jewelry as it is stretched over the skin. Starkel was recently honored by the Fifth Annual Horizon Awards at the Museum of Arts and Design in New York City. Her work has been featured in Metalsmith magazine, Lapidary Journal and most recently in The Compendium for Contemporary Jewelry Makers. Starkel lives and works in Lincoln, Nebraska.