Monday, April 05, 2010

Month of Earrings Challenge -- The Stars

I thought I'd highlight the artists who joined me in the challenge I started. Almost twenty artists total signed on to create 30 pairs, a month's worth, of earrings. I opened the challenge on January 31, with a completion date of April 1, so that was 30 pairs in 60 days, or one earring per day. I'll give links here to both the individual Flickr sets and to websites or blogs.


First to join me was desertbloomdesigns, fellow glass beadmaker and metal clay artist, Louise Little. These silver clay flowers set with amethysts were my favorites.


Next came Carol Bradley, who successfully completed all thirty, many of them etched copper with natural stones like these turquoise. Visit Carol's blog here.


Kristi Bowman, aka DreamSomeDesigns, didn't quite make the full thirty, but the twenty pairs she did were full effort, gorgeous constructions like these three piece drops.


Purple Ebren offered up the full thirty pairs, including these cool green faux bone hoops. I like people who think outside the box.


Joan Furilla came very close to finishing, with 25 pairs of metal clay earrings, many with these interesting snake bails. See details of her work on her blog.


Ruth Baillie of Birdland Creations offered a full collection of her typical whimsical earrings, with a few new explorations thrown in. My faves were these anodized aluminum birds.

Lora Hart played along briefly, before returning to her Ring A Day fascination. She is the Queen of Rings, so I understand. I just love the acrylic paint "patina" on these silver earrings. Follow her blog for lots of inspiration.


Michela Verani of Everlasting Treasures completed thirty very inspiring pairs of earrings. So many clever ideas were presented, including these innovative curly earwires.


Diane Sepanski wasn't able to continue with us, but not before loading some gems, such as this bird and birdhouse pair.


Lorena Angulo also tried to do both Ring A Day and Month of Earrings, with Ring a Day winning. She completed a third of the earrings, beautiful pieces such as these bronze clay and turquoise dangles. Check out all her incredible creations and a blog link at her website.


Cherylyn Bredemann, of c-lyn studios, used her varied arts backgrounds to produce an eclectic set of thirty finished earrings. Fun resin, enamel, and even shrink plastic, as here, combine with metal clay in her work.


Dina Alexander took time out from her usual fabulous work to create a few sets of earrings. I wish she'd done all thirty, because every pair she did were masterpieces, like these layered silver and turquoise poppies. Her Etsy shop showcases a load of favorites.


Zsazsazue played along briefly with glass beads and this pair of tiny crocheted balls. Mindboggling!


Fellow Austinite Mary Newton started late, but zipped through more than thirty pairs of earrings, including etched copper and fused silver. I liked these simple rolled tube beads. Check her blog for the details of each pair.


Convergent Series got caught up in earring making and turned out bonus pairs! Check out the spinner earrings that move freely. Her blog has lots of details.


For an international flair, try Merlin Lõiv's earrings. I can't read the information (I'm not even sure of the language!), but she belongs to a group doing lazer cut jewelry, so maybe that's how these are made.

All in all, a very inspiring collection of work from some major talent. I thank each and everyone for making the journey with me, as well as all those who just peaked in to keep track of the productions.

As promised, everyone who completed the challenge will be entered to win a pair of earrings, coming up soon. Any votes for which pair?