A is for...

Letters of Adornment : 
An Online Exhibit of Artful Adornments 

from the Flickr TADA365 Art Jewelry Group

Ok, it's on! 12 people from the TADA group are participating in a

 metal/jewelry abcedarium:

From Wikipedia: An abecedarium (or abecedary) is an inscription consisting of the letters of the an alphabet, almost always listed in order. Typically, abecdaria (or abecedaries) are practice exercises. 

Some abecedaria found in the Athenian Agora appear to be deliberately incomplete, consisting of only the first three to six letters of the Greek alphabet, and these may have had a magical or ritual significance. A deliberately incomplete abecedarium found at Hymettos in Attica may have been a votive offering.

We have divided up the alphabet and we are ready to see where the letters will take us. 

They will be done by September 5 and Mary Lu is creating a website for the show. 

The exhibit page will have one thumbnail of each piece. The thumbnail will link to a page with the two photos enlarged and the artist name, etc. 

There will also be a comments or guestbook section.

Please check the blog for progress reports

, thoughts, & experiments, 

on how the project is going.

  

 1. Evelyn (Markasky) N Q

 2. Kest {(Vagabond Jewelry (Kest)} A V

 3. Mary Lu (Mary Lu Wason) X W

 4. Pallavi(Pallavi Gandhi) L M

 5. Maria (Maria Apostolou) J K

                         

   6. Kevin (a blackbird) C T

 7. Sandra (micicart) R S

 8. Marian (Ms Place) F G

 9. Lee Ann {(mustardseedcreations (Lee Ann)} Z E Y

 10. Ponsawon (polymerclaybeads) P

 11. Helen Derici H U B

 12. Lesley Tinnaro I O D 


And some info for the players:
Photos No more than 2 jpegs for each letter.
Letter:
Title:
Materials:
Size:
Method of fabrication:
Artist Statement (about this piece):

Artist Name:
Artist Info (like a bio, but super short - one paragraph):
Artist website/contact info:

Tadaaaaa!!! Triceratops mask finished

I shared some photos of Kest's (Vagabond Jewelry) progress in creating a metal triceratops mask in one previous post. Well... she finished it already. Here are some more progress photos and the final look.

One of her comments on the process:

"The eye holes I got fancy- cut the shape out of a 2x4 and hammered into that as a die ( I hate having uneven eyes, and that was the simplest way to make sure I didn't). The veins I hammer against metal, to thin it, anneal, and then just bend by hand. I'm using 22gauge sheet, so it forms really easily."

I hope she will be surprising us with some more of her creative head wear.
If you ever wonder do people just buy them as wall art or actually wear them this is her answer:

"I sell a few to people who plan to use them purely as decoration, but mostly to people planning to wear them. I don't generally ask WHERE they plan to wear them, and particularly for Internet orders I never know, but some that I've met at fairs are:
A young gal who desperately wanted one to wear to prom, and then came back the next day, surreptitiously, with money her mother had given her for a dress.
A whole family who had just bought tickets for Venice.
A couple planning to go to Mardi Gras.
Slews of people who go to sci fi or fantasy conventions
A mom and daughter pair planning to wear them to the next PTA meeting
A fellow going to a lady gaga concert
Circus people of varying ilk, either for their own shows, or to surprise their friends.
An older gent who hoped it would keep the sun off his nose when he was walking
More slews of people going to Renn fairs, including a little 90 year old lady in a pink cat sweater who I want to be my grandma.
Goths, Freaks, and Queens, for daily wear
Whole skads of unexpected types for Halloween and other costume balls

My very favorite, though, was at the last group of fairs I went to. A family was in the booth, and the little kid, no older than four, went to try on one of the little ones. His mama said they weren't for wearing, and Ivery politely intervened and said that they could be, if a person was so inclined. She, very snottily, asked "Why?" and her son, not taller than my waist said, and I quote, "Mommy!! They're for carnival!!" "

Progress... Vagabond Jewelry

TADA group has sprouted from RAD group and many of you know how addictive it had become. I believe many of you will understand me when I say this: I was putting my babies to sleep and while laying by their sides my thoughts were wondering about some designs for the theme I have chosen for this project and then suddenly my I started drifting to figuring out how to make them work as rings. Suddenly felt relieved by the fact that I can make other things as well and not just rings :) Of course, rings will be made as well.

Now, let us see how far has someone come with the progress. I thought I'd do each post about one person.

This time it is Kest Schwartzman (Vagabond Jewelry). Her theme is a very impressive one.

Metal TRICERATOPS MASK!!!

I am going to enjoy all the way following her progress, her changing design until she's satisfied and doing the finale. Here are some of her uploads. First one was about correct spelling of the word... triceratops.

 

This is her last uploaded version.

Clicking at these photos will take you directly to her Flickr photostream and you can enjoy the progress as well as her other work.

Visit TADA365 on flickr to see what other members are working on.