The Ugly Necklace Contest

Land of Odds : Fourth Annual, 2006
The Ugly Necklace Contest
A Jewelry Design Competition With A Twist

The 10 Semi-Finalists' Page
Winner will receive $992.93 shopping spree at www.landofodds.com
Runner Up will receive $399.07 shopping spree at www.landofodds.com

RUNNER UP
#1 by Janine Dunklebarger
Manteo, NC
Is Barbie Greater Than The Sum of Her Parts?

"Mattel had delusions of grandeur,
The impossible dimensions girls try to attain.
As much as we control the doll's movements,
To strive is to be left with disdain....."

WINNER
#2 by Sarah Feingold
Rochester, NY
Leftovers

"When sea shells and plastic become less than glass beads and pearls,
out emerges a woman, where once was a girl...."

#3 by Diana Lambert
Bland, VA
Elusive Success

"Ideas are easy
They arrive at will
Results make me queasy
They imitate swill...."

#4 by Melodie Ustich
Antioch, IL
Don't Be Ugly

"...Well I'm grown up now and I've seen a lot
and here is what I've learned:
Ugly to me is different now,
it can mean broken, smashed or burned...."

#6 by Leslie Shattuck
Newport Beach, CA
The Good, the Bead, and the UGLY

"Found along the seashore
Amidst the ocean's roar
Were all these items lying in the sand
Only to fall into my searching hands....
Oh what a world we must measure
When man's weapons become one
Of Nature's treasures!!!"

#8 by Michelle Geschke
Springfield, OR
Recycle Your Trash

"Refusing to sort, recycle or compost
the trash piles up to the sky...
well, almost...."

4th Annual The Ugly Necklace Contest
Click here for contest rules

It's not easy to do Ugly!

Our 5 distinguished judges associated with
The Center for Beadwork & Jewelry Arts reviewed
56 Ugly Necklace submissions to our contest,
and selected 10 semi-finalists.
They rated each necklace using
10 jewelry design criteria. They examined the

overall hideousness of the necklace,

how clever were the materials used,

how the design of the necklace violated
good jewelry design rules associated with color, form,
balance, distribution of the elements, and focus.

They also looked at issues of
how the necklace was constructed
and its wearability, and

how well the accompanying poem
elaborated on the necklace and its ugliness.

#9 by Lisa Mallette
Fort White, FL
In Loving Memory

"Miss Kitty-Cat, why did you go?
Your time on earth was just so-so
in terms of length, because, you see,
there is no more of Miss Kitty....
But in my heart, she's always there
within this necklace that I wear...."

#5 by Lisa Matthews
Eugene, OR
Gruelry

"Esmerelda Griselda McMaggot O'Toole
Was known far and wide for her Vile Varmint Gruel
The recipe came from her dear mother's mudder
and had to be cooked in a moldy cow's udder...."

#7 by J.Z. Edwards
Ann Arbor, MI
(Expletive Deleted) Choker

"A loved one lost.
Slowly, slowly, breathing becomes impossible....
and they are gone...and we are devastated."

#10 by Laura Moore
Knoxville, TN
Cleopatra Gone Techno

"Cleopatra please forgive me
it was a vision only I could see
a stunning collar for a queen...."

When voting closes, voting logs will be reviewed
for any duplicate or otherwise illegitimate votes
(for example, those from the same IP or email address),
and these will be deleted. The on-line votes will be
tallied and used to adjust the original votes of
the Panel of Judges at CBJA, in the selection of a winner.
The public's votes will weigh towards 25% of the
final tally in selecting the Winner and Runner-Up.

And consider submitting an entry to next year's
The Fifth Annual Ugly Necklace Contest!
Entries accepted beginning Sept 1, 2006,
with the final entry submission date of Mar 15, 2007.

JOIN our On-Line Forum
Share your reactions, opinions and thoughts about our Ugly Necklace entries,
or about the Contest as a whole.

ABOUT THE JEWELRY DESIGN CRITERIA USED TO EVALUATE THE ENTRIES IN THE UGLY NECKLACE CONTEST - It Ain't Easy Doing Ugly, or as my momma says, "Ugly is as Ugly does."

Summary of Adjusted Judges Scoring Criteria

ABOUT GOOD JEWELRY DESIGN
- Principles of Composition
by Warren Feld

If you would like us to forward your comments
to any of our semi-finalists, we will be happy to do so.
You can send your comments to:
oddsian@landofodds.com