Try This ON! Jewelry by Patricia Knox

Iowa Artisans Gallery hosts the exhibit, Try This On: Jewelry by Patricia Knox, October 5 to November 4, 2012. The artist will be honored during the downtown Iowa City Gallery Walk, Friday October 5, 5-8pm. She is also one of the Gallery’s featured artists for American Craft Week, October 5-14, a national celebration of American Craft artists and the work they do. Communities of individuals, small businesses and organizations across the country join together to celebrate the way that handmade objects enrich daily lives and contribute to the national aesthetic and economy. Besides the Gallery, local organizations participating in American Craft Week include AKAR, Beadology Iowa, The Paper Nest, MC Ginsberg, Glassando, Fired Up! and the State Historical Society of Iowa.
Knox’s exhibition, Try This On! has dual references. One is obvious, —the literal invitation to see how a piece of jewelry looks and feels on the body. The second refers to the design process. “I often like to watch a piece languish in its potential in the studio. It may do that for years.  These are unfinished, seminal pieces that act as touchstones for work that moves through the studio more quickly.  And after knowing them for so long, they are hard to let go.”

Each piece in the show is one-of-a-kind or part of a series, in combinations of silver, gold, copper and gemstones. “Years ago in college I thought of myself as a potter and loved the way I could wedge, slash, throw, and slap the clay into place,” says Knox. “ Clay was loose.  It was not tedious to me.  In order to work in metal, which because of the processes of sawing, filing, hammering, casting, soldering and stone setting, it is implied that a careful plan has been laid out.  But as I pay attention and am open to what is happening with the piece, I let the design be in flux and realize that often the most important results are not those for which I thought I was striving. . .”

This exhibit includes cuffs, rings, pins and earrings. Patricia Knox is a long time resident Iowa City with periods of absence.

Iowa Artisans Gallery was established by artists in 1984. The gallery features work by American artists and specializes in Midwestern artists. Daily hours are Monday-Wednesday 10-6pm; Thursday 10-7pm; Friday 10-6pm; Saturday 10-5:30 and Sunday 12-4. For more information, please contact the Gallery at 319-351-8686.