Reverence and a passion for nature are the roots and common threads that feed Pat Kidwell Lown's creative gift.
Growing up in Oklahoma and exploring the out-of-doors with her family and geologist father instilled in her a never-ending curiosity. Pat is intrigued with the patterns in nature: trees against the morning light; the layering of feathers; the movement of landscape forms. She interprets these shapes in her “Jewelry Art,” sometimes a realistic design, other times abstract.
Her sketchbook has always been her "shadow," recording daily what she sees, hears, and feels.
Pat focuses on creating Jewelry Art, from precious metals and stones, translating her drawings into "story pieces." Though metal is very hard, she relishes the challenge, making it move, mold, and sway.
Jewelry design and fabrication is a combination of math, science, design, drawing, and gemology. As a result, her work incorporates a vast array of metal working techniques and materials, cutting many of her own stones. There is always a new technique to research and practice and this still absorbs her interest after 30 years.
Her life-long commitment to children and education led her to pursue a Masters in Education with a Vocational emphasis when her children entered highschool. As a result she created and implemented a variety of art education programs for students in elementary to high school, including a Jewelry Manufacturing program.
Pat's awards include: "Woman of Achievement - Design," Presidents Assembly of Seattle, Washington; and "Who's Who Among American's Teachers".
Her work has been exhibited throughout the United States and her personal and corporate commissions are numerous, including the cover of "The Ring", for the Seattle Opera Festival.
Pat has been featured on KING TV - Channel 5 in Washington State. Feature articles about her have appeared in The Seattle Times, Seattle Post Intelligencer, Bainbridge Review, and Peninsula Magazine.
She is a Juried Member of Sonoran Arts League and the Society of North American Goldsmiths.
Pat is an boundary-pusher and life learner. Each day brings her new ideas and challenges fueling the creation of Jewelry Art, which the wearer then delights and cherishes.