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Interest in structure, geometry and modular designs has originated in my background and study of architecture. Jewelry-making provided me with instant gratification and sense of creative freedom and control that the architectural process was lacking.
In recent years raising a child had a profound effect on my creative process. My work became more playful and intuitive, and less serious, symmetrical and controlled. I allow unexpected elements of chance to play part in the process. After many years of creating monochromatic work, I also started using color. I feel more like a painter now than an engineer, creating impressionistic compositions, with fields of color broken up into small elements. I use translucent semi-precious gems to create the most luminous effect. Each gemstone bead is like a drop of paint becoming part of the color field.
I always shied away from traditional stone setting techniques, and use of beads allowed me to employ a unique way of capturing gems within metal frames. I use very thin silver wires threaded through the holes and balled up on both sides using high heat. Frames or outlines are fabricated out of sterling silver, some are partially cast.
All the work is produced in my Brooklyn studio with the help of one assistant.
- Ashka Dymel was born in Warsaw, Poland, and lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. After studies in liberal arts and foreign languages in Poland and Czechoslovakia, Ashka moved to the United States where she earned a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Design from Parsons School of Design in New York City.
After several years of working in the field of architecture, Ashka began to design small objects and jewelry and founded her own design studio in 1990. From 1988 through 1995 she was an Adjunct Professor, teaching Design and Design History at Parsons School of Design. From 2006 through 2008 Ashka was a Visiting Professor at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn.
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Ashka's work has been sold at the following museum stores:
SF MOMA Museum Store, San Francisco, CA
The Guggenheim Museum Store, New York, NY
Brooklyn Museum of Art, Brooklyn, NY
American Craft Museum, New York, NY
Milwaukee Art Museum Store, Milwaukee, WI
Chicago Architecture Foundation, Chicago, IL
Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, IL
Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA
Fallingwater Museum Shop, Mill Run, PA
Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis, IN
DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park, Lincoln, MA
Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, Pittsbugh, PA
Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN
