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April 2018 "Finish It!" Design Challenge

4/9/2018

22 Comments

 
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It feels like it's been AGES since I've hosted a "Finish It!" Design Challenge (it kind of has been, hasn't it?), so here it is at long last! 

The rules are pretty much the same as in previous challenges, but there is some additional information in the file (attached at the bottom of this post) that is useful in completing the challenge, so be sure to read the file in its entirety before beginning your project. 
Enter between April 10- May 9. Open world wide.

The purpose of the "Finish It!" challenge is to encourage the participants to extend themselves, their talents and creativity beyond the limitations of a single set of instructions and create pieces uniquely their own. Tutorials have been an integral part of my personal evolution as a jewelry artist, from such talents as Eni Oken, Iza Malzcyk, IMNIUM and Lonely Soldier. And my progression from the steps and instructions provided to me by others has been a worthwhile journey towards my own creative self-discovery. Tutorials need never represent a "cookie cutter" aesthetic, nor the only design possibility, but rather a gateway to limitless possibilities, and the entries received for these contests have proven, time and again, the truth of that statement.

Here’s the gist: At the bottom of this post is a link to a tutorial or, more accurately, the beginning of a tutorial, and ending abruptly less than halfway through the instruction. Your job is to create a piece beginning with the steps, as explained in the file, but ending with your own imagination!

Contest Rules


  • No beads or stones may be used at all. This is a wire-only challenge.
  • To assure fairness, only the size of wire gauge may be changed. All lengths listed must be utilized (with the exception of tails too small to use).
  • Tools not listed may not be used at all during the construction of your piece. However, the needle nose pliers may be substituted for any other single pair of pliers. If a hammer, for example, isn't listed in the "Materials & Tools" list provided with the instruction, it may not be used during the construction of your piece.
  • Wire color or type (copper, bronze, silver, etc) are up to each contestant.
  • Finishing tools and processes, such as for polishing and oxidizing, may be used as they do not directly influence the size and shape of the finished design. 
  • When a piece is completed to his or her satisfaction, the contestant is asked to submit a single photo of a single finished piece via email, to nikki.hanna@gmail.com. Please title this email “Contest Entry”. No compilation photos. One single clear photo is requested. The completed project may be photographed on a chain, if desired, and on any display. Please save the image file as "Your Name Here" and send as an attachment (not embedded in the email). Following these submission guidelines assures your entry is not missed! The deadline for this submission is May 9, 2018, 11:59 pm (US Eastern). Note: Photoscape and Picasa are both free programs suitable for image resizing and photo editing, as needed.
  • On May 10th, an album will be created on Pinterest containing the submitted entries, then put to vote before all participants. Note: By submitting an entry to the “Finish it!” Design Challenge, you are granting Nicole Hanna permission to display your image online for the purposes of promoting or running this contest.
  • The participants will vote for “Group Favorite”, by commenting on their favorite entry (only one comment, on only one entry), with all votes submitted between May 10th and Midnight May 19th. If you do not have a Pinterest account, or (for any reason) cannot comment on the entries to cast your vote, please submit your vote to nikki.hanna@gmail.com and I will comment on your behalf. More on this in a later post.
  • Votes will be tallied and winners announced May 21st.

While this is mostly intended to reward you with a sense of accomplishment, the “Group Favorite” will win my completed version of this project and any ten tutorials of their choice.

A “Judged Favorite”, chosen by a panel of four jewelry artists and three “consumers” (none of which will be participating in the contest), will also receive any ten tutorials of their choice.

Every contestant will receive the finished version of this tutorial simply for participating. This tutorial will arrive as a reply to your submission email, after the contest is closed to new entries, so check your spam folder if you do not receive it by May 12th. Also, be sure your email host will accept incoming attachments. I've had many emails rejected because the mail box was full, or security settings did not allow attachments.

Note: Please access this file via a laptop or desktop computer. Some mobile devices are uncooperative with PDF downloads, and I may not be able to address requests for manual email delivery of this file in a timely manner (thus using up your submission time).

Good luck everyone and happy weaving!

Nicole
22 Comments

Glastonbury, Creative Atmosphere and Travel

4/4/2018

3 Comments

 
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March saw my second trip to Glastonbury, for the Glastonbury Wire Studio Spring Retreat, teaching with the incredibly talented Oksana Trukhan (whose work is simply magical), and to say I had a good time would be a massive understatement.

I've mentioned in the past that I struggle with social anxiety, so there's always those moments, leading up to a class or workshop, when I think "Dear God, what did I sign up for?", but Tabath and James (Lonely Soldier Designs) are amazing hosts and no one has ever made me feel as instantly at home as the two of them! Seeing the familiar faces of students from a previous workshop created for me an atmosphere of belonging, comfort and instant ease. And meeting new students, Oksana herself, and the incredible Iza Malczyk (who was teaching her own 3-day workshop) was an exercise in excitement.... never nervousness. 
​Me-1, Anxiety-0. SCORE!

But let's get back to that atmosphere I mentioned. The moment I stepped off the plane, I felt immediately relaxed. I wouldn't be so bold as to say I felt quite at home with myself, but... it's as close to that as one can be when not actually at home! Glastonbury has it's own magic, of that I'm certain. While that may be tapping into a whole pocket of cliches, given the nature of the place, the Abbey, the legend of King Arthur and all the tourist elements attached to it (which I totally eat up, by the way), it's also absolutely true. If I were never a believer in reincarnation, Glastonbury is the place to change my mind. And I think maybe I leave a little piece of me behind when I pack my bags to head home. Or, perhaps, say goodbye to a piece of me that's always been there.

It was also incredibly cathartic. I'd been in a very weird head space the prior few months. While I was creating consistently, a certain drive was lacking. I had plenty of ideas, but without the motivation and passion to see them to fruition, it began to feel like "work". Blech. There are always elements of running a business that will feel like... well... a business, but there had never before been a time when I looked forward to "clocking out" at the end of my day, stepping away from my desk and binging a season of Downton Abbey.

I didn't like that one little bit. I mean... I love Downton Abbey, but you get what I'm saying.
​And stepping onto the grounds of Middlewick Farm, where the five glorious days of work commenced, it was like a veil had been lifted.

And the students..... the students were amazing. All 16 of them (or 17 when James came in to have some solder and sheet metal fun) created stunning work, as you can see from the photo here. While I provided a template, an idea, they took that idea and ran with it and created something uniquely "them". Watching them create, their excitement and yes, at times, even their frustrations, I felt a familiar (and welcome) itch return. And I created some new work myself! It's not just that I created new pieces, but that I enjoyed the process again. It felt like a friend had shown up unexpectedly after a long absence and surprised me with cake (thanks Keren.... you're a cake goddess!).
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​And I was determined to carry that magic home with me. Or, perhaps "determined" is the wrong word, because an excitement for the creative process just sort of happened, embedded itself into my psyche. I don't think I had much choice but to allow that excitement to carry me forward.

It did, too. Until I got sick.

Before I get into that, let me tell you a little something about our airport.... it's awful. There are these horrible new kiosks that ask you whether you've touched livestock or purchased fine art, and then it takes your photo and prints you a receipt and you shuffle off to a customs agent for more questions and a detailed analysis of a stunningly bad passport photo. And, I'm not ashamed to admit that I got lost leaving my own airport. I walked around for 10 minutes before dropping my bag on the ground and, with a whimper, saying to the nearest employee "I don't know where I am." He touched my arm and said "Hun, where are you trying to go?" And I replied "Out. Just out." Ha! We both laughed and I found my way to the passenger pick-up. And, despite the travel time, I wanted to work that night, when I came home, and I did work for the next few days. Until The Great Ick arrived. It's not just a bug. It's a "sitting next to a man on a plane for 9 hours who stashed nasal spray and tissues in the seat pocket before him" kind of bug. But, at least that's given me time to write this post and imagine all the ways I can create my own magical atmosphere here at home. I envision a meditation station in the corner of my living room, new hanging lanterns above my desk for ambiance, and a fuzzy rug beneath my chair for some tactile fun for my feet. And while that may be further feeding the cliched idea of magic, and isn't quite indicative of the atmosphere of Middlewick, it's a type of magic all the same, I think.

How do you create a magic work space? 
3 Comments
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  • Home
  • Blog
  • Gallery
  • Learn To Wire Wrap
    • PDF Tutorials
    • Video Tutorials
    • Tutorial Membership 2022
  • Shop
    • SIGNATURE COLLECTION
    • GODDESS COLLECTION
    • PDF Tutorials >
      • Beginner Wire Weaving
      • Intermediate Weaving
      • PDFs for Cabochons
      • Advanced Weaving