Patricia Punykova

Minneapolis, MN

Patricia Punykova (exhibition Juror and invited artist) was born in Chicago, raised in Minneapolis, and grew up in 1980's Seattle. She studied patternmaking and apparel design at SCCC in Seattle and worked for designers and garment manufacturers on the west coast for 15 years. Back in Minneapolis, she dabbled in stained glass, and went on to study kiln-formed and cast glass at Pilchuck Glass School, Foci MCGA, Corning Studios, and at Bullseye Resource Center, Portland. A full-time studio artist since 2010, Patricia combines fine metals, leather, and glass to create jewelry-art pieces for all genders.

The collection Jumbo Love is a result of time spent during the second half of the covid lockdown, a time when some makers worked feverishly to keep hands and minds insanely busy. It started with earrings. Tedious, multiple small pieces cut, some pounded then fired and re-fired in the kiln. They are marked by pattern, shape, color and visual texture that embrace the background noise of a frenetic maker. The fine silver inclusions thread throughout the pieces from simple attachments, to the pendulum dangles with a lovely swagger as they move with you. It was the pesky little heart earrings that led to the theme of this collection.