Hearts and Flowers Tin Punch

Ira Blount · late 20th-early 21st Century

In this punched tin design, three flowers sprout from two concentric hearts. A single dotted row borders the rectangular sheet, which also features four smaller hearts in each corner. Commonly used in the American colonies, punched tin served both practical and aesthetic functions. The patterned holes punched into a tin insert on a pie safe door, for example, could provide both air flow and exterior decoration. Artist Ira Blount (1918-2020) achieves uniformity with evenly-spaced punches in his revival of the craft.