So, I've had this wonderful secret I've been keeping for the past month. Toward the beginning of May I had an unexpected phone call from Fire Mountain Gems and Beads, congratulating me on winning their 2010 Metal Clay, Metal Beads, Wirework & Chain Jewelry-Making Contest. "Wow!" I thought. "I placed first in the Necklace Category!" It wasn't until we were well into the conversation that I realized Fire Mountain Gems and Beads had actually awarded me the Grand Prize Gold Medal, for my entry "I Think, Therefore I Am 2.0".
Some things are so far out of the realm of possibility that it just never occurs to you that it might happen, you know? I nearly passed out - that evening, my husband kept telling me to snap out of it, I was in such a daze. (There's a very incoherent quotation from me on the Fire Mountain Gems & Beads website that comes directly from that telephone conversation.)
Anyway, Fire Mountain Gems and Beads has now made the formal announcement of winners in this contest, so I can finally share my news and the necklace with you. The photo of the piece at the top of this post is the one I submitted originally to the contest, based on which the piece was juried into the final round of judging.
As you can see, I am continuing to fiddle with my love of binary code as a design element and ended up combining it with my more recent preference for box-making in this design. I had trouble coming up with a frame for the piece, but ultimately chose a Shinto shrine gate as my inspiration here, which I think works well in a cyberpunk setting.
The code states "I think" on the front of the piece and the words "therefore I am" are scribbled in a rough graffiti-like manner on the back of the piece. The quote, of course, is from Descartes, and I mean it to be a reference to artificial intelligence in this setting. I strung the pendant with a strand of beautiful cut black tourmaline, green aventurine and amethyst. Oh, and for the button, I used my binary code "Geek Love" design - the partial word "love" is inscribed across it.
Thanks for visiting. I think I'm going to go celebrate at the park with the Short One now.
