2023 Design Competition
'What Was Old is New Again'

Upcycled work by Richard Salley

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​The theme of this year's competition is upcycling. We're asking you to make a piece of wearable jewelry with items that would otherwise be destined for the landfill.

'Upcycling, also known as creative reuse, is the process of transforming by-products, waste materials, useless, or unwanted products into new materials or products perceived to be of greater quality, such as artistic value or environmental value.' - Wikipedia

50% of the piece must be made from post-consumer (not bought new to make the piece) post-industrial, post-agricultural waste and/or recycled materials. Non-ferrous metal including gold, silver, brass or copper is counted as one component and should be recycled, but will not count toward the 50%.

You can use found or recycled objects, vintage or antique items, objects made from metal, wood, paper, plastic, or mixed media to create a piece of wearable jewelry. Recycled items must be identifiable and visibly count-able. Submission must include a photo of the original re-used object(s).

​​You may submit up to three entries for judging.

Material Suggestions
You may use any of the following in your design:

• Old, antique, costume or recycled jewelry
• Scraps of textiles or tiles, aluminum, steel
• Paper or plastic bags, magazines, books, phone books, flyers, office papers and envelops (used, not new!)
• Beverage bottle caps, six-pack rings, straws
• Burlap or canvas bags, fabric scraps, pre-owned clothing
• Old toys, game pieces, puzzle pieces, holiday decorations
• Packaging materials like bubble wrap, foam peanuts, and paper
• Food and drink containers – i.e. boxes, bottles, plastic tubs, Keurig pods
• Paper towel, wrapping paper, and toilet paper rolls
• Anything found from the garbage or recycling bin

Ideas for Finding Materials

• Ask family/friends/neighbors to collect materials for you or let you “shop” their garbage and recycle bins.
• Any manufacturing, industry, business or corporation
• Fabrics – garment industry, upholstery designers, carpet samples, etc.​xd
• Local recycling centers including Restore, Antique stores, Goodwill or Salvation Army stores, or Art Parts.
• ​Closets – Be sure to get permission when shopping someone else’s closet!
• All around the house: garage, basement, storage closet, junk drawers

​These are some starter ideas, but the possibilities are endless! 

Upcycled work by Leslie Maya-Charles

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Upcycled work by Robert Dancik

Judging Criteria
The BoMA board of directors will act as jury to review designs and choose finalists according to the following criteria: 

• Visual Impact (10 pts)
• Design innovation and originality. Demonstrates original creativity and fresh thoughts (10 pts)
• Use of reused, recycled or found materials. Successful incorporation of materials. Recycled material must be visible to count​ (10 pts)
• Wearability and accessibility (10 pts)
• Quality of workmanship. Technical proficiency, quality of craftsmanship (10 pts)

Our judge will review the finalists chosen by the BoMA board and select the final three winners.

​Our Judge​
Our judge this year is Carla M Fox. Carla is a metalsmith living in Bend, Oregon. She sells her work online and in shows across the country. Her jewelry is often made from wood and hollow forms. When not making jewelry, you might find her walking her dog, Lucy in the woods outside her home. Carla was the producer of 'Art in the High Desert' for 20 years and now sits on their board of directors. She's also one of our favorite teachers at BoMA.

2nd Prize includes all the stones pictured below from Turquoise Obsession

The Prizes
There will be three winners:

• 1st Prize - Choice of $500 cash or Stones from Turquoise Obsession valued at over $3,000.00
• 2nd Prize - Whichever prize is not chosen by first place winner
• 3rd Prize - Class at BoMA (max value $300)

Timeline
This year's timeline is as follows:

• Contest announcement January 16, 2023
• Submission of work deadline February 28
• Jury will review designs and choose finalists by March 5
• Judge will review finalists and decide winners by March 10
• Winners will be notified on March 11 at the '2nd Saturday Demo' at the BoMA studio.

Terms and Conditions

1. You must be a BoMA member to participate in this year's contest. If you’re not already a BoMA member for 2023, you can join here.
2. ​You may submit up to three entries for judging.
3. ​BoMA board of directors, employees, instructors and contractors may submit work but are not eligible to win prizes.
4. All submissions must be made online using Art Call, no other submission methods will be accepted. Please read the submission guidelines carefully and ensure you follow them.
5. Submissions which do not follow the guidelines will be rejected and you will be informed that your entry is not in an acceptable format. You may resubmit the entry using the correct format before the deadline.
6. All entries must be submitted by the deadline of February 28, 2023. There will be no exceptions to this. Late entries will be notified that they will not be considered for the competition.
7. All entries must be the original work of the BoMA member and must be a unique and original design.
8. Entries should not have won an award in any other competition.
9. Entries must be wearable.
10. When you enter a piece in this challenge, you agree allow BoMA to use the image of your piece in publicity, sharing your name and image with our sponsors – who may use it in their publicity – sharing it with other members of BoMA and the general public. BoMA reserve the right to use the image on their website, in their advertising and on social media. By entering this challenge, you are agreeing to these conditions.
11. The decisions of the jury and judge are final.
12. Winners will be notified by March 11, 2023. 
13. Each submission must include the following information:

         - A list of the recycled components included in the piece.
         - A photo of the recycle components before they were incorporate into the piece.
         - What the piece is – necklace, earrings, hair clip etc.
         - The dimensions of the piece.
         - Photographer credit if applicable.

Submitting Photographs
The only thing the jury will see when they are making their deliberations is the photograph of your submission. It is vitally important that your photograph represents your work in the very best way possible. Here are the rules for submitting your photographs.

• Use high-quality photographs with a plain, uncluttered background and no additional props (plants, rocks etc).
• Do not show jewelry on a model. 
• Details of the piece should be clearly visible in the image.
• The photographs must be in focus and well lit.

Participant Q&A
Q:    Who can enter, and who can’t?
A:    Anyone can enter, except BoMA board members and anyone who teaches at BoMA.  You just need to become a member of BoMA before entering and can join anytime right up to the entry deadline.

Q:    I can’t afford a professional photographer. How can I get a good image of my piece?
A:    There are many free online tutorials about taking jewelry photographs; try Googling “taking jewelry photos” to find one. One key thing is lighting; it’s not all about the camera you’re using. Good images are possible with the newer phones, but you do need to use good lighting to get a clear picture and remember to save the image at the largest possible size.

Q:    I can’t upload my image, it’s telling me the size is wrong. How do I resize my image?
A:    There are a number of free image resizing programs online which can help.  Try Googling “resize photos” or try one of these free sites:  resizeimage.net, pixlr.com, or paint.net. If your computer uses Windows 10, your Paint application is also a good resource.  Tip:  It’s best to upload your photo a few days before the deadline so you can submit another photo if the first one isn’t sized correctly or is in the wrong format.

Q:    I don’t understand the image size requirements.  What is 1000px?
A:    Px means pixels; your photo should be between 1000 pixels and 4000 pixels in size.  Most photo resizing applications allow you to adjust the pixel size, as well as save it in a .jpeg format.  

Q:    Can I enter now and join BoMA later?
A:    Please make sure you’re a member of BoMA before submitting your entry so it won’t be rejected and cause you to have to resubmit it.  Tip:  you can start your free entry as soon as you’re a member so that part of the submission is verified, then just upload the remainder of your information and your photo when your piece is made.  

Q:    I always wait until the last minute!  Can I enter on the last day?
A:    Yes, but if anything is wrong with your entry, such as the photo, you won’t have time to resubmit it.  Don’t risk it!  We know time is always tight for artists, so go ahead and start the entry process with your basic information at your earliest convenience; your info will wait safely in the system until you’re ready to upload your photo.      

Q:    What happens if my piece is rejected for some reason – can I resubmit?    
A:    Yes.  If anything doesn’t meet the guidelines, you will be sent an email saying your entry has been rejected, giving you details of why (for example, photo isn’t clear enough). You can then correct and resubmit it, but keep in mind that your resubmitted entry must be received by the deadline. Anything received after the 4th October deadline can’t be accepted.

Q:    Help!  I think I’m a member of BoMA but none of my emails or passwords are being recognized online.  
A:     Just send an email to info@bouldermetalsmiths.com and we will help you.​