Creative Challenge 1st Place Winner!

As a social member of Alloy Metalsmithing, I am offered the opportunity to participate in quarterly design challenges. Because of my background in interior design and my love of the built environment the summer challenge was one that intrigued and inspired me! You can read more about my background on my About page.

Challenge: Create a design-forward piece of jewelry that incorporates at least one architectural element. The piece must be an everyday wearable item, include a least one architectural design element, show thoughtful design (balanced, comfortable, intentional), exhibit strong craftsmanship.

The Judges: Maggie Goss of Mercury Contract, Alissa Wehmueller of Helix KC, Christine Nelson of AnnMann Designs. The judges were not given any background information on the piece, so it was a pure, objective and unbiased evaluation and critique

The design inspiration for this challenge was abundant and endless, so homing in on a design was indeed complicated. As I began exploring the vast number of paths I could take, I landed on something so simple, yet so important to buildings and structures, particularly from the 1860’s through the 1950’s.

I titled my piece “Ode to the Rivet” to honor one of the worlds most iconic architectural marvels, containing over 2.5 million rivets: the Eiffel Tower.

Although the concept is abstract, it clearly offers a subtle nod to this remarkable structure. The larger rivets highlight the elements’s strength and scale, while the smaller rivets are both decorative and functional.

Te piece is constructed primarily of copper, wth sterling silver and rubber accents. A patina was applied to evoke raw steel while still acknowledging copper as the primary material.

Together, these materials and forms celebrate the rivet’s enduring balance of utility, strength and beauty.

In the end, I was awarded 1st place amongst a very creative group of metalsmiths. I was humbled an honored.

“Ode to the Rivet”