Website: www.karunapewter.myportflio.com

E-mail: sun@visionrising.com

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I make one-of-a-kind functional pewter objects offering a strong visual & tactile experience. The aesthetic is one of clean elegance with a gentle nod to the tradition of wabi sabi, rather than to industrial perfection. I want the user to know there was a maker.

 

I began making hand-wrought pewter nearly 20 years ago with extensive studies under American pewter master Fred Fenster. Unlike commercial cast pewter, my work begins from high-quality lead-free pewter sheet which I shape, join, and finish entirely by hand. It is very labor-intensive process that only a handful of craftspeople are willing to undertake today. In the tradition of passing on a craft, it has been my privilege for many years to teach pewter workshops at the Wildacres Retreat Center in Little Switzerland, NC.

 

Pewter’s unique workability offers a beautiful material for an exploration of forms & textures. I use embossed, distressed, and patinated elements, along with brass and copper embellishments. The imagery is often  informed by my experience as a practitioner of Tibetan Buddhism.