About Annette Paskiewicz

I’ve been a craft artist for more than 35 years. Growing up in Kenosha, Wisconsin, my mother Pat was a beloved art teacher who taught students of all ages. Because of her, I was exposed to wide variety of high-quality crafts from early childhood. There were always Ceramics Monthly and American Craft magazines on the coffee table. Growing up with my mom meant regular trips to the Milwaukee Art Museum or  the Art Institute of Chicago. My mother was my inspiration and constant source of encouragement in my life as a craft artist.

The first two years in college at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, I studied lighting design in the theater department. The thought of being in dark theaters all my life led me to transfer into the art department and I got my B.S. in Art, focusing on ceramics. 

When I moved to Chicago in 1986 I started a business called "Draw Bags by Annette."  I created one of a kind applique leather (resourced from the "scraps" of the clothing designers and manufacturers in NYC) bags and accessories and sold them in the Midwest and east coast art fairs. My last show was the Philadelphia Museum Craft Fair in 1989. I had an incredibly successful show and met so many great artists I still know today. I stopped making bags and moved to Los Angeles at thirty years old to start jewelry.   

I took one metalsmithing adult education course in Venice Beach, CA and then one semester of basic metalsmithing at El Camino Community College in California's South Bay. From then on I taught myself to fuse glass and combine it with sterling silver. In the 1990's I attended workshops in enameling and lamp working glass at the Penland School of Crafts.  Notably, after college I lived a brief year in San Francisco (1985) and studied ceramic art, at the now defunct, San Francisco Art Institute.

In 1991, I started making jewelry and exhibiting in craft fairs nationwide. From the Smithsonian Show in Washington D.C. to the Beverly Hills Art Fair in California, I traveled across the United States selling my jewelry.

In 2007 I moved to Athens, Georgia.

A perfect spot for my creative endeavors.

2024 will bring more exciting work with leather and wood and glass.

I am also dipping into my painted photographs this year.

I love the idea of mixing it all up!

Stay tuned to what comes next!