Sunday, April 19, 2015

Some news :-)





Ok, so I guess it's time to say that I am so happy and proud to announce that I am a finalist in Saul Bell Design Award competition again :-). This time with a necklace. Thank you very much!








This necklace is called "Midsummer night" and was inspired by a celebration of the shortest night of the year in Slavic culture - Kupala Night. It's a festival of fire, water, joy, fertility and love. People gather around bonfires to dance and maidens plait flower wreaths, which are later thrown into rivers or lakes to tell the future or to be caught be a beloved man. It is said to be dangerous to swim though, because especially during this magical night you might encounter rusalkas - female water spirits. If they saw handsome men, they would fascinate them with songs and dancing, mesmerize them, then lead them away to the river bottom to their death. You can see three of these water spirits in my necklace, peeking out of the lake, surrounded by water plants and fireflies.
The necklace is made of fine silver clay, 18K green gold clay, sterling silver, labradorites and silk.







It's the third time I am one of the five finalists in metal clay category in this competition. My first lucky entry was my "Flower storm" bracelet (SBDA 2013). It was one of my first pieces made with Goldie bronze, and right now it's owned by Goldie's creator - Waldo Iłowiecki :-).
My second finalist piece (SBDA 2014) was inspired by Slavic folklore. It was Leshy - keeper of the forest. At the end it placed second and I was lucky enough to attend the award ceremony in Albuquerque, and The Santa Fe Symposium, which was really very interesting and truly inspiring. The whole thing was a wonderful experience and I can recommend it to anyone :-).

So, this year, my "Midsummer Night" necklace is in the final five, but of course I won't tell you how it placed, yet :-). I don't want to ruin fun of guessing for anyone ;-). It's also very mysterious this year, with no announcement of the finalists.  Even I don't know who else is in the final five in my category - besides Janet Alexander with her wonderful "Mom's Jewelry Box", who already announced her achievement on her website. I always love looking at the finalist pieces - there is so much eye candy there every year :-).

EDIT :-) So now , a few more people decided to share their great news, so I can congratulate again Janet Alexander, but also Terry Kovalcik, Holly Gage and Ivy Solomon! I have to say that it's a huge pleasure to be a finalist with so talented and accomplished people.

3 comments:

  1. Congratulations, Anna. It is well deserved. The piece is stunning and I love the story that goes with it.

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  2. Aclya sapphire ring $50-$150 cheap but equally beautiful My second finalist piece (SBDA 2014) was inspired by Slavic folklore. It was Leshy - keeper of the forest. At the end it placed second and I was lucky enough to attend the award ceremony in Albuquerque,

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