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Gemstones & Pearls Category
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Spirit Wolf
Artists: Sandra Cowan and Lori Bouchard (South Windsor, CT)
Honorable Mention, Gemstones & Pearls
"As with all of our pieces, this was a collaborative effort (Sandra in Texas and Lori in Connecticut) ... Once Sandra received the pieces she needed, the real challenge began! Even though she could "see" the finished piece clearly in her mind, getting there was difficult. After a few attempts at constructing the pendant, without much success, we brainstormed again, and came to the conclusion that the "butt-side" of the coyote charm would have to be filed flat so that he would sit properly and not throw the entire piece out of balance. Some drilling of extra holes in the Fluorite tongues also needed to be done to attach everything in a manner that could not be seen.
"The second challenge came when trying to frame the piece and still keep the fluorite tongues sitting in the proper position. Forming the frame with incased silver spacer beads was a challenge in itself. ... [B]alance ... was accomplished using the swirls to outline one side of the frame ...
"Further challenges then came when Lori had to create a chain that would complement the pendant without distracting from or overwhelming it. After selecting the gemstones and pearls that would best complement the pendant, the chain making began. It took two days of creating many different wire segments, before agreeing together on the final choice. Then, the challenge became to recreate that segment many times! After creating as many segments as needed, all the same (Lori does not use a jig, but creates freehand with only pliers), each individual gemstone or pearl had to be wired onto its proper spot on each segment. It was very important to keep track of which segment Lori was working on and on which side of the chain it would be placed, as the segments on one side are the flip reverse of the other. The added challenge to this piece was that we are many states apart and had only phone conversations and email pictures to create from." — Sandra Cowan and Lori Bouchard
Review the 2006 contest details to see what this contestant was up against, and to start your plans for the 2007 contest!
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