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Welcome to BSGC's Archives Page
- BEAD CHALLENGE 2007
- 15th ANNUAL BEAD & BOOK SALE
- 11th ANNUAL ART OF BEADWORK 2007
- WORLD ON A STRING - EPISODE 4 IS RELEASED
- THE BEAD SHOW SYMPOSIUM (doomed in the USA?)
- WORLD ON A STRING - EPISODE 3 AVAILABLE
- INTERWEAVE PRESS'S ACQUISITION SPREE (beads beguile big bucks?)
- 10th ANNUAL ART OF BEADWORK A SUCCESS!
- REFLECTIONS ON THE 14th ANNUAL BEAD AND BOOK SALE
- THE 2006 BEAD CHALLENGE - "IT'S A CHARMED LIFE"
- "WORLD ON A STRING" AN EPIC FILM ABOUT BEADS
- 9TH ANNUAL ART OF BEADWORK 2005
- 13TH ANNUAL BEAD AND BOOK SALE 2005
- BEAD CHALLENGE 2005 "BE INSPIRED"
- 8TH ANNUAL ART OF BEADWORK 2004
- BEAD CHALLENGE 2004
- SIGNATURE NECKLACE 2004
- BEAD CHALLENGE 2003
- BEAD CHALLENGE 2002
- SIGNATURE NECKLACE 2002
The annual bead challenge was held at the September 6 meeting. Members submitted 22 amazing entries representing a variety of techniques and bead types—lots of black and white and several touches of color. They were all beautiful; many members said that they had trouble choosing! Prizes were awarded in six categories with prizes consisting of gift certificates donated by some of our member bead shops. Winners were Esther Detlefsen for Best of Show, Patty Wanninger for First-Time Entrant, Jill Wagner for Returning Entrant, Adeline Berg for Black & White Balance, Kris Anstrats for Use of Accent Color and tied for No Category—“I Just Like It” were Mary Ann Theis and Jan Tedesco. Thanks to all who participated.
Special thanks to the participating shops for their generous donations: Adelia’s Closet, Bead In Hand, Bead World, Bodacious Beads, Chelsea’s Beads and NanC Meinhardt Studio. I would also like to thank Blanca Osorio, Jay Johnson and Patty Wanninger who helped me with the display and counting of ballots.
Barbara Fry
| NAME | TITLE | PRIZE | |
| Kris Anstrats | Tango Bracelet | Best Use of Accent Color | |
| Adeline Berg | Untitled | Best Black & White Balance | |
| Fred Bryant | The Cage | ||
| Diane Caruso | Untitled | ||
| Esther Detlefsen | Untitled | Best of Show | |
| Nancy Doaln | Teddy’s Inspiration | ||
| Margo Jankewycz | Wire Weave Wood | ||
| Mary Miller | Black Leather & Pearls | ||
| Sandra Monahu | Blackeyed Susan | ||
| Jolanta Narejko | Winter Necklace | ||
| Jolanta Narejko | untitled 1 | ||
| Jolanta Narejko | untitled 2 | ||
| Jolanta Narejko | untitled 3 | ||
| Blanca Osario | Blanco y Negro | ||
| Blanca Osario | Medusa | ||
| Marcia Schari | Native American Peace Chart | ||
| Barbara Smith | Tea at the Pump Room | ||
| Jan Tedesco | Jazzy Neckware | No Category—I Just Like It! (tie) | |
| Mary Ann Theis | Games | No Category—I Just Like It! (tie) | |
| Jill Wagner | Finding Nemo | Best Returning Entrant | |
| Patty Wanninger | Card Case | Best First Time Entrant | |
| Judy Zeddies | Challenging Pendant |
Very special thanks from Scott Bartky to Judy Zeddies for taking the pictures in his absence.
(Click here for Flyer and Vendor List)
(Click here for map & directions)
The Midwest Conference Center appeared on the horizon. While traveling east on 290, my thoughts were to the day’s bustling activities about to unfold.
For all my years in the Bead Society, I had not been involved with the Bead and Book Sale Show, and my expectations were mixed.
Vendors started arriving at 7 a.m. ready to go. BSGC volunteers were on the scene shortly after 7:30am ready for check-in, setup, and general help. Our doors opened at 10 a.m. to eager shoppers. The book sales were brisk and membership (both new and renewals) were good with ‘free tote bag’ incentives.
The day moved along quickly, as we came together and ‘made it work’. We felt good about the show and were very tired by 6pm.
This show has always been very important to the Bead Society. We need a Chair person for the 2008 show. Without a leader our traditional show cannot continue.
Pat Jeffers
It was a beautiful fall day to show off equally beautiful and artistic beaded work by talented BSGC members at this year’s Art of Beadwork sale at the White Eagle Banquet Hall in Niles. Attendance for the November 4, 2007 show and sale of members’ finished work was bustling all day. And at nearly 275 shoppers, it was only slightly down from last year.
The exhibit hall was filled with well-designed tables showcasing beadwork as varied as the personality of our members. Styles included elegant, colorful, intricate, bold, natural and even humorous pieces from first-time sellers and experienced beadworkers alike. Nearly 50 members participated in this year’s sale. Newcomers say it was a great experience and allowed them to get their feet wet at selling and all say the day was lots of fun.
Thanks go to Ofilia Cinta and Barbara Fry for their donations of wonderful jewelry pieces for the door prize giveaways. And an even bigger thank you goes to Virginia Brubaker, Carol Ann Carr, Pat Jeffers, Lauryn Keenan and Judith Schwab for their volunteer efforts. Without their help the show would not have been possible. “Cindy McEwen and Phyllis Kaplan co-chaired the event.
We hope next year’s show will be an even bigger success.
Cindy McEwen
For those of you who attended Diana Friedberg's Chicago Premiere Showing (*) of Episodes 1 and 2 of "World on a String", Episode 4, The Treasured Bead, is available from the website http://www.worldonastringmovie.com.
This episode, thought by some to be the best yet, covers the eintire production chain of beads from the gathering of the raw materials, to the manufacture of beads, all the way through through the marketing and selling.
This is a great documentary and everyone who loves beads should have this in their library. The series, over 10 years in the making, continues winning international awards; 13 so far with more bound to come. The final episode is due out early 2008.
(*) Click here for previous stories about episode 3 and the event.
11/18/07
I believe that here in the United States the days of a bead symposium being part of a bead show are numbered. Ironically, the reason for its demise can be traced to the incredible exponetial growth that has occured in the bead industry.
The only type of bead show that could support a symposium is the multi-day event with many workshops and a large number of dealers. Although there are and have been many large multi-day bead shows in the United States, up to now fewer than 20 have held educational sessions. Three were produced by bead societies: 1985 by the LA society, 1990 and 1995 by the DC society. The rest were produced by Recursos de Sante Fe an educational non-profit organization specializing in symposiums and conferences in the arts, sciences, humanities and letters. In 2006 Recursos' Bead Expo was acquired by Interweave Press thus completing the 100% takeover of the large multi-day bead shows by magazine publishers. Magazine publishers have a clear advantage over any other group in that advertising a show is just an incremental expense for them.
Sadly, at his point in time, Bead Expo, now produced by Interweave Press, is the only stateside show with a bead symposium. More alarming is Interweave Press is now backed by private equity (story), a group of people more concerned with ROI (return on investment) than public education. It is no secret that in today's large multi-day bead shows workshops fill up almost immediately after opening and the number of dealers applying for admission continues to increase. It seems, therefore, to be only a matter of time until these venture capitalists use the space required and advertising costs of a symposium more profitably for more dealers and workshops.
Although the bead show symposium may disappear in the USA, it appears to be coming alive in Europe. In November of 2007 in Istanbul there will be a major international bead conference with an exciting academic program. Unlike the large stateside shows, the Istanbul conference is sponsored by a tourist organization and has both government and acedemic support.
In conclusion, as Mehitable sang to Archie, "There's a dance or two in the old dame yet."
Scott Bartky
webmaster 3/1/07
For those of you who attended Diana Friedberg's Chicago Premiere Showing (*) of Episodes 1 and 2 of "World on a String", Episode 3, The Sacred Bead, is available from the website http://www.worldonastringmovie.com.
This episode, #3 of 5, examines how sacred beads have been a constant companion of humans since time immemorial. Though tiny, they have fulfilled a great need. In nearly all religions of the world they were accorded a sanctified place in our eternal quest for the divine.
This is a great documentary and everyone who loves beads should have this in their library. Episode 1, by the way, has taken two prestigious film awards viz:
(1) the Fall 2005 Cine Golden Eagle Award for Professional Non-Telecast Programming
(2) the Silver Screen Award in the Arts category at the 2005 International Film and Video Festival
(*) Click here for a story about the event.
1/27/07
Venture capitalists may have become beguiled by beads.
Last year, in February 2006, we learned Interweave Press had acquired Bead Expo. Later in September 2006 we read that they bought the Gems Group from PrimeMedia which included Lapidary Journal, Colored Stone as well as all of Lapidary's trade shows. This year in January they picked up Quilting Arts, Cloth Paper, and also the Needle Arts Studio Television Program. Back in September I was somewhat curious about how Interweave managed to acquire a company approximately its own size if not bigger. In January when they picked up a TV show, I became positively intrigued and decided to look into it.
I first learned that in June of 2005 Interweave Press had sold all its assets to Aspire Media, LLC and Interweave's founder, Linda Ligon, had taken the position of Aspire's "creative director". Aspire Media, LLC was founded by Clay B. Hall in July 2003 and he now serves as its CEO. The company is backed by two private equity firms: Frontenac Company of Chicago and Catalyst Investors of New York with Frontenac being, more-than-likely, the principle investor since it has two members on the board verses one for Catalyst.
If you go to Aspire's website introduction page (www.aspire-media.com/intro.asp), Interweave Press is listed as their first acquisition. Further on they state they are interested in making arts and crafts acquisitions that can be integrated with Interweave Press. Their goal is to build a $100 million company around Interweave Press and other companies focused on "enthusiast market segments" and they claim to have the funds to do so. They define "enthusiast market segments" as basically hobbies such as beading, weaving, sewing, cooking, photography, collecting etc.
Clay B. Hall, Aspire's CEO, previously published Southwest Art magazine which he sold to Cowles Enthusiast Media in 1995. He then ran a division for Cowles which published various "enthusiast magazines" such as Fly Fisherman and Bow Hunter up to the late 1990s. I didn't discover much else about him until he resurfaced in 2003 when he founded Aspire Media with 50 million dollars backing from venture capital firms presumably Frontenac and Catalyst Investors. He apparently was able to con(vince) these firms with data showing "enthusiast magazines" had actually grown during the recession and dotcom bust while others lost circulation (a no-brainer in the case of beads).
As for Hall's goal of a $100 million company, I found a September 2003 interview with him in Folio: The Magazine for Magazine Management where he outlined his reasoning. I quote: "Buyers pay a much higher multiple for a $100 million company than a $25 million company. A bigger company has more diverse revenue streams and less risk, and there is significant operational leverage in magazine companies. A $100 million magazine company can have a similarly sized back office as a $25 million company. But the multiples paid for $100 million companies are 71 percent higher than a $25 million company in a bull market, and 74 percent higher in a bear market".
It would be quite interesting to know what transpired between July 2003 when Aspire was born with a $50 million silver spoon in its mouth and June 2005 when it acquired Interweave as its first toy. I have a few thoughts on this which I'll save for another article along with what I speculate might happen in the future. For now I'll just close with a personal observation that I've never known a venture capitalist to become a philanthropist or an altruist while they are growing a company.
Scott Bartky
webmaster 2/13/07
Beautiful and artistic beaded work by talented BSGC members was sold at this year's Art of Beadwork sale at the White Eagle Banquet Hall in Niles. Attendance for the November 12 show and sale of member's finished work was on par with 2005 with 300 attendees.
Wonderful pieces of jewelry were donated by Karen Ovington and Alley Maranto for the door prize giveaways. Overall the show was stunning-showcasing remarkable, creative, interesting and fun pieces by 52 members, an increase of 11 from last year. Featured were beaded works of jewelry, weaving, accessories, home decoration and sculpture created by new and experienced beaders alike. The Art of Beadwork has always been a good place to start for those new to selling their work.
Thanks go to Cindy McEwen and Phyllis Kaplan for co-chairing the event. And an even bigger thank you to volunteers Kathleen Fitzgerald, Heidi Kafka, Tricia Lavelle, Hope Nash, Barb Ostler, Nancy Rosasco, Judith Schwab and Patricia Zmuda. Without their help the show would not have been possible.
We hope next year's show will be even better!
Cindy McEwen, Co-chair, Art of Beadwork
Mark your calendars now for next year's show which will be September 16, 2007. (Click here for map & directions)
Click on picture for enlarged view of the hall.
My day started early. The sun was just coming up and there was a promise of good weather for the beaders planning to attend the show. When I arrived at the Midwest Conference Center around 7:30 am, our exhibitors were already at the door and anxious to start setting up. They had two hours to fill their tables and displays with beautiful, enticing, and simply irresistible beads, findings, and more.
We had 69 exhibitors this year displaying across 116 tables. There were some old and favorite friends to the Society's annual sale as well as some brand new merchants and artisans who didn't disappoint us when we showed up at their booth. Generally, the exhibitors expressed their approval of the day, the Society's member volunteers, and our accommodations (ok, the Center is a little hard to find but the roomy aisles and free parking are well worth the trip!). Most were very happy with the show's outcome and expressed their desire to return again next year.
When the doors opened at 10 am, we welcomed our attendees and our members. In total, 690 beaders came for the beads and the books. You could tell that many had prepared in advance for the vendors they planned on visiting; obviously doing their pre-show homework using the Society's website. Many of the new attendees signed up for a 2007 postcard and our membership list grew by approximately 5% that day.
Our book tables were filled with wonderful publications on all types of subjects covering a variety of bead and wire topics. Both attendees and exhibitors took advantage of our fabulous inventory.
The day wouldn't have been so successful if I didn't have the support of the members who volunteered for the day. I would like to thank all our volunteers for the wonderful work they did and the enthusiasm they brought to the job. Their generous efforts made this show possible.
I cannot stress enough how important it is for members to volunteer for the committees we have in the Society. Giving your time brings you valuable benefits: new friendships, new experiences, and new opportunities. As for me, this was my 2nd year chairing the Bead and Book Sale. I've made some great friends, talked beads with a wide variety of talented members, and became close with a number of artisans and merchants that have exhibited at our shows. Next year, I will be spending most of my time and energy in some of the other projects that have been patiently waiting on my desk.
So, as of right now, we need a new Chair for the 2007 Sale. Since preparations begin in mid-December, it is important to see Pat Jeffers of our Nominating Committee as soon as you can. Tell her you're interested in this rewarding job. Yes, there's work involved, but there's nothing like seeing happy faces on the day of the sale. I have great notes, examples, databases, and emails at your disposal. You won't be working in the dark. Please think about it - you won't regret the experience.
I want to give Kudos to the following members who volunteered: Jenny Bezingue, Noreen Gallivan, Rich Ziemba, Erin Sorenson, Carol Ann Carr, Virginia Brubaker, Barbara Fry, Mary Baim, Mary Barthold, Jill Wagner, Diane Caruso, Rich Zahn, Hope Nash, Mary Gregory, Josephine Davis, Chris Petrozz, Pat Zmuda, Pat Jeffers, Elan Lange, Barbara Ostler, Judith Schwab, Sue Kenyon, Phyllis Kaplan, Nancy Rosasco
Special thanks to all the board members but especially to Phyllis Kaplan for the ads, postcards, graphics, and programs; Jill Wagner for the vendor/membership audits and the mailing labels; Scott Bartky for the website info on the show, the postcard updates and the table numbers; and Debbie Daigle for the show's publicity. My thanks to Judith Schwab for her advice and counsel.
Sharleen Ozga, 2005-2006 Chair, Bead & Book Sale
The 2006 Bead Challenge featured a charm bracelet. The bracelet had to have a minimum of 5 charms, be at least 7 inches long to fit a normal wrist and had to be wearable. It could be a link bracelet, cuff (open at one side to fit on the wrist), bangle (circle) or spiral. If a link bracelet, it had to have a fastener to connect it. There were no constraints as to how the bracelet was worked.
| ENTRANT | PRIZE / DONER | Kris Anstrats | Jenny Bezingue | Laurel Bobzien | JUDGE'S FAVORITE / Bead in Hand | Fred Bryant | Marcia Schori | Ann Cohen | Stana Coleman | BEST IN SHOW / Accents by Fred Jewelry | Josephine S. Davis | Barbara Fry | Nancy Kingsbury | MOST ORIGINAL DESIGN / Bodacious Beads | Elan Lange | Mary Miller | BEST USE OF MATERIALS / Bead World | Robin Rogers | Jan Tedesco | Mary Ann Theis | BEST NEWBIE / EnBeadia | Jill Wagner | BEST PREVIE / EnBeadia |
Diana Friedberg’s "World on a String" DVD presentation was exciting! She spoke briefly between Vol 1 and 2 telling us that she is a professional videographer and editor in Los Angeles who has come more recently to beads. Her husband has written and narrated her lushly filmed work. These are evocative, sophisticated works of art. As I said before, when I first saw Vol 1, I was so proud to be part of this world. Several people told me that they had tears in their eyes after the Saturday viewing. Diana places beads in their proper important place both historically and in present day. Vol 3, which will cover prayer beads and rosaries, and should be out before the end of the year. The fourth volume will cover, among other topics, current beads and beadwork. If you wish to submit an e-mail file of your work for consideration, write Diana at: DianaFriedberg@sbcglobal.net. BSGC volunteers demonstrated their work at tables during the morning. Scott and Elisabeth Bartky brought sample beads and exhibited their bead time-line. Judith Schwab sold some books. Phyllis Kaplan and Carol Ann Carr demonstrated wirework. Fred Bryant showed PMC. Off-loom beadwork was covered by Sandy Anderson, Alice Jenks and Donna Zaidenberg. Bib Neiman and new member Debra Daigle showed people bead knitting and Susan Kenyon demonstrated bead crochet. Jenny Vrieze did loom work, Pat Jeffers bead embroidery and new member Regina Greer-Smith was our bead-stringing demonstrator. We all had fun; the cultural center is a beautiful place to spend a few hours and those who came by seemed to be fascinated by our work. This was another wonderful opportunity to put the word out about beads, beadwork and BSGC.
Attendance was up at the 2005 Art of Beadwork with 300 paid attendees as compared with the 220 in 2004. The show and sale of member’s finished beadwork was held November 6, 2005 at The White Eagle Banquet Hall in Niles, IL. Noreen Gallivan and Cindy McEwen each contributed a beautiful piece of jewelry for the door prizes. As usual the show was stunning; members’ works were creative, beautiful, interesting, brilliant and some just plain fun. A total of forty-one members participated in the show with approximately six showing at the Art of Beadwork for the first time. Look for an article highlighting the first-time experience and creative process of some of these exhibitors in the March 2006 newsletter. Let us again thank Sher Berman and Phyllis Kaplan for their work in orchestrating this fabulous show and Carol Ann Carr, Lori Horbas, Ellen Germanos, Susan Kenyon, JoAnn Reece, Nancy Rosasco and Judith Schwab for their volunteer assistance throughout the day. This show would not be possible without their combined efforts.
Kimberlie Streed
The 13th Annual Bead & Book Sale was, once again (are you surprised?) a grand success. Attendance was about the same as last two years with about 1000 shoppers. The facilities and space were fabulous with ample parking, shuttle service thru the parking lot, and extra wide aisles allowing a steady flow of movement throughout the room. Most vendors were happy and enjoyed visiting as well as providing quality service to our shoppers. We received many comments, positive and some constructively critical from those in attendance. Thank you very much for both as they provide us with the ability to create this sale more to your liking next year. Also, we would welcome any other comments and/or suggestions you have, please email us at: info@bsgc.org
Thank you to all the volunteers who made themselves available to assist us at this event and to Erin Sorenson as Book Sale Chair and Judith Schwab as Bead Sale Chair. It would not have been such a success without all of your efforts. All of the volunteer work required for such an event is very much valued and appreciated.
Actually there were two challenges in this year's bead challenge. First, was to be inspired by a famous work of art and second, was to complete it in two months time! The only other requirement was the entry had to include (or "be") at least one bead. Seventeen members rose to the challenge.
Thank you Portia Mandel, Margo Jankiewiez and Fred Bryant for creating this wonderful new challenge. Everything about this contest was fresh and fun, just what the event needed. A list of those prize contributors will be published in December.
| ENTRANT | INSPIRATION | PRIZE | Myra Schwartz | Inspiration | Barbara Fry | Inspiration | Best Wearable | Ester Detlefsen | Inspiration | Jill Wagner | Inspiration | LaVerne Schwartz | Inspiration | Most Literal | Fred Bryant | Inspiration | Cindy McEwen | Inspiration | Most Creativity in Smallest Size | Laurel Bobzien | Inspiration | Best Sculpural Piece & Best of Show | Judy Zeddies | Inspiration | Phyllis Woloshin | Inspiration | Portia Mandel | Inspiration | Most Creative Interpretation | Gina Lambert | Inspiration | Karen Ovington | Inspiration | Kim Anderson | Inspiration | Most Inspired | Barbara Smeed | Inspiration | Debbie Daigle | Inspiration | JoAnn Baumann | Inspiration |
November 21, 2004, 35 members of BSGC participated in our annual exhibition and sale of members' beadwork at White Eagle Banquets in Niles. We had members showing for the first time in any show ever and more experienced members ending their busy year of art shows with this show. As always, the exhibit hall was beautiful and member tables/booths were well designed and looked gorgeous, one after another after another after another. The beadwork was as varied as the personalities of our membership: elegant, colorful, creative, natural, intricate, bold, loud and some even humorous.
Some member exhibitors were discouraged as attendance was lower than average. Although sales were low at my table, I was proud to be part of a show with such incredible unique artwork as that created by members of BSGC. It was a day rich with conversation and appreciation of one another's talents.
A sincere Thank You to Phyllis Kaplan and Sher Berman for all the hard work of organizing and running the show. Thank you also to Sharleen Ozga and Sher Berman for their jewelry donations for the door prize and to the other BSGC members who volunteered and helped throughout the day.
Kimberlie Streed
Click on the "slide show" button below for pictures of the crowds.
Animals of the Bead World was our Bead Challenge theme this year. Like last year, the entries competed in seven member judged categories plus a "best of show" award at our 2004 Bead and Book Sale. Again, like the last two years, all had to fit inside a small 4x4x2 inch box. The work, as usual, was wonderful and, to our organizer Virginia Brubaker, thank you very much.
Barbara Fry's "Pop-Up Book" took the Best by a previous entrant award and was voted the Members' Choice for Best of Show. Malgorzata Jankiewicz's "Sea She" was judged as the Best by a first-time entrant and the Best Technique prize was won by Jenny Bezingue's "Turtle Egg Inro Box". Jennifer Schwartz's "Animals at Play in the Grass" took the Best Fits Theme award and the prize for the Most Whimsical was taken by Jill Wagner's "Darla Doodlebug". Alice Jenks' "Chiquita, the Shy Chicken" was judged Most Thought-Provoking and Elan Lange's "Optic Mouse" won the Most Votes Without Receiving Any of the Above awards.
In alphabetical order the entries were:
Jenny Bezingue Turtle Egg Inro Box
Diane Caruso Long Necks
Barbara Fry Pop-Up Book
Malgorzata Jankiewicz Sea She
Alice Jenks Chiquita the Shy Chicken
Elan Lange Optic Mouse
Jennifer Schwartz Animals at Play in the Grass
Jill Wagner Darla Doodlebug
Bead Challenge Prizes were donated by:
American Chiropractic
Bead World
Blue Fire Beads
Bodacious Beads
Funky Hannah's
Goldie's Beads
Katherine's Bead Boutique
Queen Beads
Tom Thumb Hobbies
Portia Mandel put together the Signature Necklace which was won by Phyllis Kaplan at our September meeting. The theme was celestial and the bead doners were Besty Kirkly-Edwards, Phyllis Kaplan, Jan Whittaker, Nancy Graver, Lee Mandel, Ophelia Cintas, Margie Trembley, Cynthia McEwen, Portia Mandel and Jacob Mandel.
We've made wonderful necklaces in the past. The necklace makers have been Donna Zaidenberg, Kim Anderson and Nancy Walters.
This year's bead challenge consisted of 14 entries competing in seven member judged categories plus the "most popular" voted by the public at the 2003 Bead and Book Sale. This year's theme was "Head Trip" and, like last year's challenge, all entries had to fit inside a small 4x4x2 inch box. The work, as usual, was wonderful and to our organizer Virginia Brubaker, thank you very much.
Lori Saunders' Are We There Yet? was voted by the members as the "BEST NEWBIE" and "BEST OF SHOW" and was also voted #1 in the Peoples Choice voting at the Bead and Book Show. Elan Lange's "Green Woman Mask (Galstonbury)" was the "BEST PIECE BY A PREVIOUS ENTRANT". Elizabeth Liechti's "A Fairy Tale: Wherein is told of a lunar lady and the foxy fellow she meets along the way" took the prize of "BEST TECHNIQUE" and was voted as the #2 choice in the Peoples Choice voting at the Bead and Book Show. Jill Wagner's "Paris Fling" won the "MOST HUMOROUS" and Nancy Graver's "Head Stone Stone" won the "MOST THOUGHT-PROVOKING" and Sandra Semkiw's "Head Trip 1" was the "BEST FITS THE "HEAD TRIP" THEME". Barbara Fry's "Head Pin" won the prize of "HAD THE MOST VOTES ACROSS THE CATEGORIES OF A PIECE THAT DIDN'T WIN ANOTHER AWARD".
In alphabetical order the entries were:
Scott Bartky Bumbled Bead
Jenny Bezingue Kente Mask Pin
Frederick Bryant Hanging Together
Barbara Fry Head Pin
Noreen Gallivan Going to the Garden Party
Nancy Graver Head Stone Stone
Mary Ann Hickey Untitled
Alice Jenks Tres Chapeaux
Elan Lange Green Woman Mask (Galstonbury)
Elizabeth Liechti A Fairy Tale
Lori Saunders Are We There Yet?
Jennifer Schwartz Polyanna
Sandra Semkiw Head trip 1
Jill Wagner Paris Fling
Last year's bead challenge was an outstanding success with 21 entries competing in six member judged categories plus the "most popular" voted by the public at the 2002 Bead and Book Sale. This year's theme was "Think Inside the Box" where all entries had to fit inside a 3x3x3 inch box.
The work, as usual, was wonderful and it is very exciting that we had about three times as many entries as in 2001. Jenny Bezingue, Diane Carter and Doris Weinbaum worked very hard planning this year's Challenge. They created new categories, changed the prizes, changed the date of beginning and encouraged members all summer. We thank them very much.
Stana Coleman's "Look for the Inner Beauty" was the grand winner taking four prizes: "BEST USE OF COLOR", "BEST TECHNIQUE", "MOST THOUGHT PROVOKING", and "#1 BEAD SALE POPULAR VOTE". Virginia Brubaker was voted by the members as the "BEST NEWBIE" and also took the "#2 BEAD SALE POPULAR VOTE". Doris Weinbaum's "Baby Bovine Bares Belly" won the "MOST HUMOROUS" and Jenny Bezingue's "Robot Sisterhood" took the "#3 BEAD SALE POPULAR VOTE". Jill Wagner's "Jack (In the Box)" won the last category of " DOESN'T FIT IN ABOVE CATEGORIES, BUT DESERVES A VOTE ANYWAY".
A very special thanks to Linda Bernstein, Jenny Bezingue, Kim Fields, NanC Meinhardt, JoAnne Reece, Marilyn Speh, Nancy Walters of Blue Frog Beads, and Doris Weinbaum of Bead in Hand for donating our prizes!
In alphabetical order the entries are:
Scott Bartky Think Outside the Box While Inside the Box
Jenny Bezingue Robot Sisterhood
Virginia Brubaker Untitled
Diane Caruso Lest We Forget
Stana Coleman Look For the Inner Beauty
Esther Detlefsen Braided Seed Bead Necklace
Barbara Fry Ariadne
Jo Halls Sea Treasure
Nancy Kingsbury One Size Fits All?
Betsy Kirkley-Edwards What Kind of Slinky is This?
Elan Lange Of the Sun and Moon and the Two Trees
Linda Leibsker Snake Object
Caroline Magsaysay Spiral Mania
Sylvia Maxwell It's All About the Button
Cindy McEwen Caged Animal
Sherry Rontal Think Outside the Box: A Bright Idea
Julia Sober Big Useless Bead
Jill Wagner Jack (In the Box)
Doris Weinbaum Baby Bovine Bares Belly
Bea Williams Untitled
Ruth Zuckerman Broken Bead Pendant
The 2002 BSGC Necklace was designed and created by Nancy Walters who did a beautiful job with the 14 bead donations. The bead donators were: Sher Berman, Jenny Bezingue, Virginia Brubaker, Kim Fields, Nancy Graver, Jo Halls, Cindy Jenkins, Phyllis Kaplan, Gwen Blakley Kinsler, Cynthia McEwen, Sherry Rontal, Julia Sober, and Judy Zeddies.
The necklace was won by Alice Jenks who wore to our Bead and Book Sale and the October meeting. Obviously she is thrilled to own it.
We thank you all for your creative efforts.
