(PRINCETON, NJ) -- On Saturday, November 18, 2023 at 6:00pm, artist Lenora Kandiner will be the featured speaker for the "Inside the Artist's Studio" series at Princeton Makes in the Princeton Shopping Center.  Kandiner, a founding member of the Princeton Makes artist cooperative, is a multi-skilled creative who specializes in polymer and mixed media.

Kandiner, during her long career in information technology,  discovered polymer clay, and found a medium where she could create in the little free time she had available.  After she creates a unique pattern in polymer, often from a rainbow of iridescent colors, she produces a wide variety of functional and decorative items – such as ballpoint pens, sketch pencils, bracelets and earrings.

Her designs are often based on the environment. “I am inspired by nature, but especially by the ginkgo tree, because ginkgo is a survivor,”  said Kandiner.  “Not only is it ancient, but the ginkgo trees at ground zero at Hiroshima survived the atomic blast and bloomed the next spring. There is no more powerful symbol of resilience.”

She has exhibited her polymer work at the Arts Council of Princeton, West Windsor Arts Council, the Montgomery Center for the Arts (NJ), Artworks in Park City, Utah, Rice Gallery at McDaniel College in Westminster, MD, and at the galleries of International Polymer Clay Association conferences in Baltimore,, Atlanta, and King of Prussia.

Kandiner’s talk will focus on her life, artistic practice, and creative process. This month she is the featured artist at Princeton Makes; her work is highlighted in the retail space. The “Inside the Artist’s Studio” talk series, part of the cooperative’s programming initiatives, offers the public a monthly opportunity to learn about and from its creatives.

The event will begin with a reception, with light refreshments, at 6:00pm.  Artwork by all cooperative artists will be available for purchase.

Princeton Makes is a cooperative comprised of 37 local artists who work across a range of artistic genres, including painting, drawing, stained glass, sculpture, textiles, and jewelry. Customers will be able to support local artists by visiting their in-store studios and by shopping for a wide variety of art, including large paintings, prints, custom-made greeting cards, stained glass lamps and window hangings, jewelry in a variety of designs and patterns, and more.