Ojai artist Penny Ann Keller Herring has been announced as Poppies Arts and Gifts’ December Guest Artist.
Penny Ann Keller Herring, of Ojai, will showcase her fine silver jewelry as the guest artist for Poppies Arts and Gifts.
She will showcase her fine silver jewelry at the shop, located at 323 E. Matilija St., in Ojai.
Ms. Herring is a fourth-generation Californian raised in Ventura. While living in Thailand and Pakistan, she collected brass jewelry molds from Central Asia and fell in love with the artistic heritage of the tribal people of Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and the surrounding areas where the jewelry molds originated.
She and her mother planned to have jewelry made by the Afghan refugees and export times while overseas in the late 1990s, but political tensions were rising.
Ms. Herring returned to the U.S. and began using recycled silver and brass molds to create her own designs.
She donates 5% from sales of every piece made from these molds to Pennies for Peace, supporting educational projects by Central Asia Institute, a nonprofit.
The artist will also be selling copies of “Journey of Traditions: Stories of South Central Asia,” a book written and illustrated by her mother, Carole Keller.
Poppies Art and Gifts is open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sundays. For more information, visit https://poppiesartandgifts.indiemade.com.
email: gmccormick@newspress.com
