“The first of the Twig and Leaf necklaces proved to be an important precursor to Kinghorn’s floral designs, which inhabit the same ambiguous space between meticulous naturalism and pure abstraction. Around 2003, she created the prototype for much of her later work in Chrysanthemum, a twenty four karat gold and sterling silver brooch equipped to serve alternately as a pendant. The design dramatically exploited the tonal contrast between the patinated silver and subdued gold of the fused-metal. Consisting principally of thinly cut strips of the fused sheet with their ends curled gently inward, Chrysanthemum creates an impression of blossom-like softness, even the physical tenderness associated with newly revealed petals, that is manifestly at odds with the actual tactile properties of the materials from which it is composed.”