(828) 526-0173 | [email protected] | Copyright 2024 – All Rights Reserved.
Tin-acious Nancy
Written By: Donna Rhodes | Issue: 2021/08 – August
Nancy Mackoviak’s tin-dency to rummage and forage brought her to a new avenue of artistic expression.
Nancy Mackoviak
When artist Nancy Mackoviak sees a vintage cookie tin, she doesn’t think chocolate-chip – she thinks earrings, necklaces, bracelets, and belts.
Her Aha tin-jewelry-revelation happened when she became her mom’s caregiver circa 2006. She was rummaging through closets and found an eye-catching Jack Daniels tin. All she needed was a pair of tin snips and she was on the road to reinventing jewelry design.
Nancy has a lifelong love affair with art. Her personal art history is built on, well, art history. She has a B.S. in Art and a Masters in Art History from Tulane University.
Her hands have forever been on auto-pilot, molding 3-D materials into works of art, mostly small and mostly accessories to wear on ear, neck, and wrist.
From the Jack Daniels tin she began making a belt. Since tin was a new medium, she had to invent rules as she went along. Sharp edges? She bought files for a smooth, safe surface. Tin sources? Thrift stores and garage sales. Shape? Quality shears and custom-crafted templates.
As a kid she watched her mother sketch and doodle to fill time in-between tasks. Her mom’s little 2-D works inspired Nancy’s little 3-D pieces. That influence encouraged her to go to art school where she studied jewelry-making, created little sculptures to keep those talented hands busy, much like her mom, and then made those creations wearable.
Before Nancy had her tin epiphany, she spent 20 years molding, sculpting, and beading with polymer clay. She taught polymer clay for years at John Campbell Folk School. Eventually clay and tin interests cross-pollinated and now she embellishes one with the other.
While she used to travel the art circuit, in recent times she has focused more on regional shows. You can frequently find her at the Saturday morning Highlands Marketplace. She shows at the Macon County Art Association in Franklin. Find her under Reappeared on Etsy or Nancy Mackoviak on Instagram. Phone, (828) 342-9519, or email [email protected]. And if you run across a treasured tin, tin-acious Nancy is eager to create a custom piece just for you or that someone special.
