Fortieth Muse Original Designs by Lisa Pichnarcik
About the Artist
"And her voice is a string of coloured beads..." Edna St. Vincent Millay
Necklace: amethyst, citrine
Lisa Pichnarcik has studied jewelry-making techniques for many years. She has explored a variety of jewelry designs, including stringing, stitching and knotting, chainmaking, glass fusing, lampworking, and beadmaking using precious metal clay and polymer clay.
She frequently incorporates semi-precious stones into her designs, accenting their natural beauty with clay, crystals, fibers, and metals, such as sterling silver, gold, copper, and pewter. She chooses her materials not just for their color, texture, and shape, but also for the inherent luster, depth, and movement within each bead. An important factor in the process is understanding how the beads and metals will feel against the skin of the wearer. Jewelry is as much a sensual experience as it is a self-expression. Each piece is designed to reflect these elements.
Lisa has found that her passion for jewelry design parallels her love of writing and literature:
"I value and admire the thoughtful musings of writers, how deliberately they search for the right words, the ones that not just set a scene or describe a character, but tell the story and evoke emotion within the reader.
I often think of this deliberateness in my own work, in the delicate coils of a wire wrapped bead, the polished surface of polymer clay, or the fine stitches amongst colorful seed beads. As I wrap the wire, shape my polymer clay, or stitch beads, I enjoy each part of the process, from selecting and working with the materials to creating a unique design that eventually becomes part of the story of each wearer."
She frequently incorporates semi-precious stones into her designs, accenting their natural beauty with clay, crystals, fibers, and metals, such as sterling silver, gold, copper, and pewter. She chooses her materials not just for their color, texture, and shape, but also for the inherent luster, depth, and movement within each bead. An important factor in the process is understanding how the beads and metals will feel against the skin of the wearer. Jewelry is as much a sensual experience as it is a self-expression. Each piece is designed to reflect these elements.
Lisa has found that her passion for jewelry design parallels her love of writing and literature:
"I value and admire the thoughtful musings of writers, how deliberately they search for the right words, the ones that not just set a scene or describe a character, but tell the story and evoke emotion within the reader.
I often think of this deliberateness in my own work, in the delicate coils of a wire wrapped bead, the polished surface of polymer clay, or the fine stitches amongst colorful seed beads. As I wrap the wire, shape my polymer clay, or stitch beads, I enjoy each part of the process, from selecting and working with the materials to creating a unique design that eventually becomes part of the story of each wearer."