Pretty Things Spotlight: Heartworks by Lori

Update: The winner of Heartwork by Lori's art pendant "This Bird Has Flown" is PRETTY FUN! Congratulations! Thanks to all of you who entered.

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Lori Patton, the creatrix of Heartworks By Lori, is inspired and moved by art and the world around us.

It has stirred such a child-like feeling of wonder and amazement in her that she is drawn to create timeless treasures incorporating the two.

Turned off by the exploitative prices charged by many high-end boutiques, Lori she set out to craft vintage-inspired jewelry made in brass and pewter that everyone could afford.

Her art has transgressed over the years and she has been able to also incorporate the work of some of her favourite artists in her jewelry as well. Talented artists such as Lori's brother Brad Weinman or photographer Irene Suchocki help to incorporate "little poems for the eyes" into each handcrafted piece.

"My goal is that you would enjoy ...my jewelry...knowing that the hand that moved it from raw material into art holds no greater joy than knowing I have moved you as well."

Shown in the body of this feature are new lockets in the works by Lori, which are soon to appear in her shop. Incorporating art such as "Lady with an Ermine" evokes a fondness for the luxury of the past while the "Lotus Love Locket" mixes modernity and vintage so playfully.

Spotlight...Heartworks by Lori

★ Tell us a bit about You…
My name is Lori and I'm 30-something (we'll leave it at that). I'm a true Valley girl, born and raised, but I currently reside in Culver City (a suburb of Los Angeles, CA). I'm the wife of an amazing man and mommy to 3 quirky and wonderful little superhero boys, Josiah-6, Tommy-4 & Jude-2. I've always been a crafty girl, even in Kindergarten, where Arts & Crafts was by far my favorite subject...still is. In Jr. High School, when all of my girlfriends were learning how to bake like Betty Crocker, I was enrolled in Plastics, Metal & Woodshop classes where I learned to make cool Pacman pencil holders and colorful paperweights. Art has always been a huge part of my family and with my brother as an accomplished illustrator, my uncle as an artist, my grandmother as a composer and artist, and my aunt as an artist. I guess you can say that it was inevitable that I would carry that gene as well. My hands are the avenue through which I express myself and my heart guides me the entire way. I always need to be creating something or else I'd go crazy!

★ What inspires you?
Ultimately, truth and beauty inspire me. Life and art move me and evoke a special passion and emotion within me that spurs me to create. I'm also inspired by the awesome colors and patterns of flowers and cloudy skies, or a breathtaking sunset and they make me want to capture the beauty in some way by creating "little poems for the eyes" as Irene Suchocki likes to say (she's one of my fabulous collaboration partners). I'm drawn to all things feminine, magical, hauntingly beautiful, deep & precious as well as those things that draw me deeper into the pursuit of the profound...those things that are too wonderful for words. When I create a "piece of heart" for my collection, my sole intention is always to craft something so unique and so emotionally evocative that each person who wears my jewelry would immediately catch my aesthetic vision and make it her own. A little piece of me goes with each piece I make.


★ What has been your most memorable moment selling your art?
My most memorable moment selling my art jewelry was when I had the awesome opportunity earlier this year to create a custom collection for the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. The collection featured art images from the exhibition, "El Greco to Velasquez", comprising Spanish art during the 1600's, set into antique brass frames. Because of the exposure from that commission, I'm currently working on another museum order where I'll create art jewelry featuring the famous art images from Monet, Modigliani and other well-loved paintings from the Master painters. Memorable is such an understatement!

★ Any advice for fellow artists...
Do what you love and love what you do. If you're in it for the money, then money will never ultimately satisfy you. True success is creating for the sheer joy of expressing your passion and bringing pleasure and happiness to others from your work. If financial blessing comes from it, then that's just icing on the cake!

★ If you could be any character whom would it be and why?
I relate to Elastigirl from the movie "The Incredibles" [one of my favorite movies!]. She is very flexible, but at times stretched very thin. In emergencies, she's able to perform incredible displays of courage and strength, all the while remaining calm, practical and keeping her great sense of humor. When confronted with a momentary obstacle, she extends herself [literally] and saves the day and is never bent out of shape, but recoils right back to her normal state. She loves her hubby and kiddos in spite of hard times and as she ages, she diggs her husband even more. Elastigirl is my kind of gal!


★ Tell us your future plans for your business...
I'm thrilled with the opportunities to work with museums by creating custom art jewelry collections for them and I plan on continuing in that direction as well as having my jewelry in more boutiques around the world. I'm honored to work with such amazing artists and photographers and I look forward to expanding my art jewelry collections as my collaborators add new stunning images to our line.

★ Shop: http://HeartworksByLori.Etsy.com
★ Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/heartworksbylori

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This Give-a-Way is now closed...

Lori of Heartworks by Lori has given away one of her best selling art pendants entitled "This Bird Has Flown" as part of this week's artist feature. The winner was PRETTY FUN. Congratulations!
This stunning pendant in pewter measures just over 1" and the image inside by the talented photographer Irene Suchocki measures 3/4 of an inch. The winner will receive the pendant only.

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To Enter...
Pick your favourite piece of work from the Heartworks by Lori shoppe and then comment here to tell us which you fancy and why you like it!
★ For an extra entry into this contest... Post a comment on any other post on my blog, not including artist features.

How to Comment...
Comment by clicking on "Comments" or the "Post a comment" area at the very bottom of this post and a comment area will come up for you to type in. Then, if you don't have a blog, you may either click name/URL and fill in your name only, leaving the URL area blank or post anonymously. Just be sure to sign your name and leave a way for us to contact you if you win.

Most Important Details...
If your favourite piece from the Heartworks by Lori shoppe is not part of your comment and/or some sort of viable contact information is not included, your entry will be automatically disqualified. Duplicate entries in this post will not be considered. One entry per person unless you comment on another post on this blog during the week of this feature/contest, excluding artist features. *I DO check every single entry.* Winner has 3 days to contact me with their mailing address. Give-a-way is shipped out via the artist. The winner's name is drawn out of a most fashionable bowl made in Thailand. This contest is open to everyone. All entries must be received by noon on Sunday, September 7th, 2008 PST.

Best of luck to you, my Pretties!