Lillstreet Gallery Holiday Trunk Shows

Chicago based jewelry designer Lisa Slodki began making jewelry as a childhood hobby using scraps of wire and pliers found on her father's workbench. Meticulous attention to detail was evident even in her earliest experiments as well as an affinity for geometric forms. Continuing to hone her craft over the years, she received her BFA in Metals/Jewelry Design in 1996. Wirework continues to be at the heart of her designs. Slodki spends most of her days in her studio which overflows with seemingly every kind of wire and plier known to humankind, including the tools she never managed to return to her father's workbench.

Currently a metalsmithing resident artist at Lillstreet Art Center in Chicago, Peter has a BFA from Grand Valley State University and an MFA from Edinboro University. With a passion for architecture, he creates small-scale sculptural pieces using jewelry as a platform. Peter states, “By combining the spatial and structural qualities of architecture with the intimacy created between jewelry and its wearer, I encourage the viewer to explore, discover, and question the work. Architecture allows viewers to immerse themselves completely within it. It can be appreciated for its artistic aesthetic and functional integrity. Jewelry is also functional, but instead of engulfing the viewer, it becomes an extension of the body. By fabricating with mixed materials, I can decisively create, conceal, and reveal physical spaces. Powder coat, wood, and cement elements promote an industrial look and feel, while silver and gold leaf speak to the preciousness of jewelry.”