Silver News

1998 Student Silversmiths Competition Shows High Level of Creativity

The 1998 Student Silversmiths Competition sponsored by the Society of American Silversmiths in Chepachet, Rhode Island, received 115 entries ranging from the traditional to geometric science fiction. Entries showed advanced silversmithing techniques such as chasing, repousse, reticulation, and applique all with a variety of surface finishes.

The entries were submitted from 35 schools ranging from the Appalachian Center for Crafts to the University of Wisconsin Madison.

The Grand-Prize Winner was a fully functional rocket-style teapot submitted by Mark Rooker, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. Finalists included a moon-rover style teapot and a Mississippi style pearl box. Honorable Mentions included a litho shrine, a pair of forged spoons, and a stylized teapot. More information about the 1998 Contest winners can be found at http://www.silversmithing.com/lcomp98.htm. First prize includes a commission of $1,500, donated by Seymour Rabinovich, noted collector and author of Antique Silver Servers, to create a broad-bladed sterling server of their design.

The annual competition is designed to encourage sustained interest in modern silversmithing and carry on the traditional techniques for the working of silver into objects of artistic beauty.

Silver News - April/May 1999