Mill Valley, CA, October 29, 2011 – Susan Cummins, chair of the Art Jewelry Forum (AJF) and Susan Kempin, award program chair, are pleased to announce this year’s Emerging Artist Award winner, Farrah Al-Dujaili. Al-Dujaili was chosen from among 150 entries from 36 countries.
Jurors for the 2011 competition were Perry A Price, Assistant Curator of Exhibitions and Collections at the Fuller Craft Museum, Brockton, Massachusetts; Marion Fulk, long-standing member of AJF and collector of contemporary jewelry; and Agnes Larsson, jewelry artist and recipient of the AJF’s 2010 Emerging Artist Award.
Criteria used in the judging were originality, depth of concept and quality of craftsmanship. Al-Dujaili works within an intuitive mix of drawing and making that crosses over and intertwines. She applies drawing materials such as pencil, crayons and watercolors to a surface of enamel paint. This gives an interesting material link to the design methodology, enforcing the dialogue between drawing and making.
Perry Price commented, ‘I find this an interesting use of materials: watercolors, pencils and paint; the combination of materials and forms create three-dimensional sketches.’ Agnes Larson added, ‘She is taking techniques from drawings and transforming them well into her pieces.’ Marion Fulk remarked, ‘This was a very interesting and consistent body of work.’
Al-Dujaili received a BA in 2009 and an MFA in 2011 in Silversmithing and Related Products from the School of Jewellery, Birmingham City University, Birmingham, United Kingdom.
Formal announcement of this award, with images of the work, will be made at SOFA New York, April 20–23, 2012. Her work will also be shown at Collect in London, England, May 11–14, 2012.
NEWS RELEASE
November 17, 2011
Contact: Susan Kempin (917-459-0866)
