Jewellery Design Competition

Salla Viitasalo won the Lights On! Jewellery Design Competition with the ‘Bound Together’ necklace.

The Bound together comprises of two bronze parts building the main body of the piece and representing the two countries on each side of the Gulf of Finland, Finland and Estonia, bound together by nature like the roots that entwine grasping each other. The piece also wants to give a modern form to the ancient bronze jewellery created in both countries during their history. Together these two pieces form a simple decorative clasp often used in the ancient costume jewellery.

korukisanvoittaja
The eight glass pendants tell in subtle detail about the specific features of each location either drawing from the history or the nature of the site:

Raasepori – rose representing Christina, the Rose of Raasepori
Kuusisto – a flying bird from the tale of the poor peasant
Vallisaari – a wing of a bat, known to reside on the area
Rapola – a cereal representing the long history of cultivating the land on the area
Neeruti – lake surface representing the folktale and the lakes Kalevipoeg formed alongside with the hill fort
Lõhavere – a sword representing the historical artifacts found on the area
Varbola – a leaf to tell about the Tree Carving Festival held on the location
Keila-Joa – waterfalls specific for the location

The jewellery piece has been created by hand using the contemporary metal clay and glass clay techniques. In both of these techniques the fine metal or glass powder is mixed with a binder substance and water to create a clay-like mass which can be handled fairly similarly than clay when creating ceramics. After the piece is formed by hand it will enter a kiln process where the binder burns out and the metal sinters or glass melts joining the particles to a solid piece.

The process is known for it’s original way of showing the metal clay artist’s personal touch and way of working in the details of the finalized piece – very different from the contemporary mechanically produced jewellery. The main piece of the necklace has been created of a pale shade of bronze, the pendants from opal-shade glass in green, grey, blue and rose colours.

The piece has been joined together with a grey suede necklace. Even if the bronze piece is primarily meant to be worn clasped together, each of the bronze pendants could be bought and worn as separate pendants either with or without the glass pendants.

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The competition is open to designers, artists and students, as individuals or working in groups and living in Finland or Estonia.  The goal of the competition is to find an innovative piece of jewellery which would be symbolic of the power embedded within historical sites in Finland and Estonia.

FULL competition programme!

Participate HERE!

 

Timetable for the competition:

Competition period 16.5.2016 – 1.8.2016
The deadline for submission of proposals 1.8.2016
The winner will be announced on Finnish Nature Day 27.8.2016
The winner will be contacted personally and the results will be published both on Lights On! and Metsähallitus’ homepages.

The jury of the competition:

Saimi Hoyer, National Park Ambassador, Manager of State Hotel Punkaharju
Kai Lobjakas, Director, the Estonian Museum of Applied Art and Design
Päivi Ruutiainen, D.A., Humak University of Applied Sciences
Outi Ala-Härkönen, Communications Officer, Metsähallitus Natural Heritage

 

Prizes:

The winner can choose between three award alternatives

A. Sales Location: Old Student House Christmas Market by POP UP ILO 17.-23.12.2016, Helsinki, value 1107 e
www.vanhanjoulutori.fi

B.Product/Portrait photography, photographer Mikael Pettersson, Helsinki, value 2000 e
www.mikaelpettersson.com

C. Design consulting service / Design audit, AKU, Tallinna, value 2000 e
www.aku.co

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