At last! I was just about to give up and email the people at Fire Mountain Gems to ask about the contest results when I received an email saying that the judging was complete, the pieces were back in the mail, and the award certificates and gift certificates were on their way. I don’t yet have “Faerie Carnivale” back yet, but I checked the website and found out that this piece received a silver medal award in the necklace category! I’m elated! Considering I haven’t been working with metal clay very long, this is a huge accomplishment, and I am honored to be in such great company. The cameo “portrait” is a transfer on polymer clay of my watercolor painting of a fairy wearing a butterfly mask, and the wire woven neckpiece was a piece I had set aside to finish later. It’s funny how that happens sometimes–you have an idea that doesn’t quite fit the current project, so you set it aside and it’s perfect for something else. Here’s a picture showing more detail on the neck piece:

And here’s a picture of the whole design:

Fire Mountain Gems took pictures of one of their employees wearing my piece, but I couldn’t copy and paste, so you can see it here. Be sure to click on the “Lifestyle View.”  While you’re there, take a look at all the other winners, too. There are some truly talented jewelry artisans out there!

Now I need to figure out how I want to spend my $75 prize.