suprise from Rio Grande

I got this framed certificate from Rio Grande in the mail today. I wasn't expecting anything more about the 2011 Saul Bell Award since I was only a finalist.

2011 Cheongju Craft Competition info

The information for the 2011 Cheongju International Craft Competition is now posted.

Entries from outside Korea are due June 8th. Entries from within Korea are due June 3rd.

I am planning on making a silver vessel. I've got a 12" x 12" sheet of 22 ga. sterling I will use. I just haven't made the design yet. I got it in Oct. 2008, when silver was around $9-10/oz. Silver is now around $30/oz. I'm glad I didn't wait to buy it. When I look at the price of metals (silver $30, gold $1375, pt $1700) I think I couldn't have picked a better time to take a break from making things.

I have 5 months to design and make my piece. That should be plenty of time, but things always seem to take much longer than expected, and since I don't have a design yet, I have less time because of work and no longer have a real studio I am sure things will take even longer than normal.

$675 worth of silver:

Saul Bell Finalist

My scale necklace is a finalist in the 2011 Saul Bell Competition in the silver category. The piece is at my parents house in the US, so I'll have them send it in for the final judging by mid January. The winners will be announced at the beginning of June 2011.

exhibitions and competitions

Several days ago I submitted my entry for an exhibition called "To Be: (Determined) - An Exhibition of the First Five". The entry fee was $30. That's pretty average. Most entry fees are around $25 - $40. Since I have kept copies of almost all my exhibition and competition entries since 2005, when I started entering them on a regular basis, I decided to add them all up and see what I have spent entering these things... $915 on entry fees since 2005. Before 2005 I only entered a few things and I don't have copies of the entry forms anymore, but I would guess they totaled around $100.

Those entry fees have really added up. And those numbers don't even include shipping costs for the work if it's accepted. I wonder if they are worth it? What do I get out of these exhibitions and competitions? That is something I have been thinking about a lot this year, cause many of these exhibitions don't seem to be worth it. You get exposure for your work, and hopefully a catalog of the exhibition is published. Ego boost or ego crush, depending on if you are accepted or not. That is the other downside to entering, in addition to losing money, I feel pretty bad when I am rejected. But it is kind of addicting to enter them. I have a hard time not entering a show if my work fits the theme. Entering exhibitions and competitions is the closest I get to gambling.

Cheongju Finalist

I just found out my necklace was one of 210 pieces selected as finalists in the Cheongju International Craft Competition. The next step is to send the actual piece to Korea for the next round of judging.

500 Plastic Jewelry Designs

Thursday I received a copy of the new book 500 Plastic Jewelry Designs. I have one piece in the book. The work in the book is good, I wasn't sure what to expect.

I just realized recently that I must not have won anything in the Jewelry Arts Awards this year. When I won last year I found out in May. Since it's July and I haven't heard anything, I guess that means I didn't win.

scale necklace update

I'm still working on my scale necklace. I don't want to be working on it, but I am hoping to get it done in time to enter in the Cheongju competition. I have a couple other ideas for bracelets using a similar construction method, one of them is the enamel piece I am thinking about. I would much rather start on the bracelets, but I need to keep working on the necklace. Sometimes it's hard for me to stay focused on these things when I have so many other ideas. I think my attention span is shorter now than when I was younger.

Having a deadline for a competition or exhibition is good for motivating me to finish things I have been dragging out. When I enter a competition or juried exhibition I try not to think about the outcome, I just enter and try to forget about it till I hear the results. It's not too hard when I already have finished pieces to enter. But it is hard not to think about the outcome when I am working hard to try to meet a deadline. The hope that rushing to meet the deadline will pay off is what keeps me going when a deadline is coming up. But the more I think about getting into a show or competition, the harder it is when I am rejected. So sometimes when I am working hard on something like this scale necklace, I am wondering if I am just setting myself up for a big disappointment.

2009 Jewelry Arts Awards entry form

I emailed some one at Jewelry Artist to ask them about the 2009 Jewelry Arts Awards entry form since the 2008 entry form is still up. She said to use the 2008 entry form. Entries are due March 1st.

Jewelry Arts Awards

The 2008 Jewelry Arts Awards winning pieces are now posted on the Jewelry Artist magazine website. They will also be in the Sept 2008 issue which will be out very soon, if it's not out already.

2008 Jewelry Arts Awards

I found out today that I got 1st and 2nd place in the rings category in the Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist Jewelry Arts Awards. The winning pieces will be published in the Sept issue of Lapidary Journal.

1st place:


2nd place:


I got 1st place in the rings category in 2006. Last year I didn't enter because I missed the deadline. I had marked it on my calendar as April 1st when really it was March 1st. So it's good that I had 2 pieces win this year to make up for missing last year.

more cheongju stuff

I was happy to see a photo of my teapot in the article Creative Evolution, Deeply & Slowly by John Perreault in the Feb/March 2008 issue of American Craft. It is a review of the Cheongju International Craft Biennale.

My friend found this picture online of the jurying for the Cheongju International Craft Competition. The pieces in this photo are the grand prize and gold prize winners.

2008 Jewelry Arts Awards

The entry form for the 2008 Lapidary Journal Jewelry Arts Awards has finally been posted. Its due March 1st, 2008.