The daily Astorian., July 27, 2017, COAST WEEKEND, Page 11, Image 21

JULY 27, 2017 // 11
Continued from Page 10
‘From ordinary
to un-ordinary’
Barna of Votive Handcrafted
Elemental Jewelry will be joining
the tour for the fi rst time this year.
“My works are contemporary
and the designs are crafted using
a lot of geometry, angles and nat-
ural patterns,” Barna said. “Each
piece is entirely handcrafted and
organic.”
Barna likes to play with
angles, even if it’s in subtle ways,
such as making pieces asymmet-
ric.
“Asymmetry can really create
an artful bend on something that
might otherwise be very simple,”
Barna said. “Or it takes it from
ordinary to un-ordinary.”
She works primarily with
metals, such as sterling silver,
bronze, 14 karat gold-fi lled and
18 karat gold.
Barna said simple pieces can
take her less than an hour to com-
plete, while “statement” pieces
can take up to a full day or even
multiple days.
Though this is not her fi rst art
tour, Barna said she is excited
to be in the Astoria Open Stu-
dios Tour and see the many new
artists.
She is part of a team that is
opening a new makers’ space
downtown called “Astoria Mak-
ers,” where people will have ac-
cess to high-end tools, education
classes and community program-
ming around all things creative.
“It is a communal space for
design, fabrication and education
in craft,” she said.
Eskelin took the Astoria Open
Studios Tour as a spectator last
year, and had a lot of fun having
personal conversations with the
artists, she said.
She recommends that people
not limit themselves to check-
ing out only the kind of art they
usually like: “Go to the others —
venture out and have fun!” CW
Maps of the tour are available
at astoriavisualarts.org. The
full tour guides can be picked
up at RiverSea Gallery, Imogen
Gallery, Old Town Framing,
the Astoria and Warrenton Area
Chamber of Commerce and at
most coffee shops in Astoria. The
Coast Weekend pullout guide can
also be used.
SUBMITTED PHOTOS
Chris Bryant
Lucy Barna
Kari Young
Noel Thomas
Robert Paulmenn