Jann Ferris’ spicy necklace takes the ugly jewel |[7/19/05]

Published 12:00 am Tuesday, July 19, 2005

It won.

Jann Ferris, Warren County artist whose works in textiles and jewelry have received acclaim for being “good,” has received a national prize for work that is horribly “bad.”

Land of Odds, Be Dazzled Beads and The Center for Beadwork & Jewelry Arts in Nashville announced Saturday that Ferris won its Ugly Necklace Contest.

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It wasn’t a random kind of thing. The point was to defy the principles of design and aesthetics.

“The finalists were those beadwork and jewelry designers who could best elaborate upon rules of design, whether intuitively or strategically. These rules of design are in effect an underlying grammar and vocabulary – the theoretical and professional basis of beadwork and jewelry making as art, not just craft,” read a press release announcing the winner.

Ferris, a New Orleans native, used Cajun spices and condiments that she called “My Cajun Condiment Collar.” She also wrote a poem in Cajun dialect describing her theme.

To capture the Cajun theme further, Ferris said she flashed sprinkles of Tabasco on the white undershirt her husband wore as the necklace’s background.

Voting was on the Internet at the sponsor’s Web site.

“It’s a bit of a dubious distinction,” Ferris said. “I have a nephew who’s staying in town with us and he said, ‘Don’t they know you do pretty stuff, too?'”

Ferris was told about the contest by a sister-in-law and said part of the reason she entered the contest was for the prize – a $992.93 shopping spree of the sponsors’ products.

“It’s a great prize because people who design jewelry are always needing components, special beads,” Ferris said. “It’s going to be such a fun shopping spree. That is a real boost that will help creatively – provide things I don’t already have.”

Ferris was one of 10 semi-finalists picked from 33 entries by a panel of five judges. First-place and runners-up were determined by Web votes and judges from the Center for Beadwork & Jewelry Arts.

The judges reviewed how well each entrant met and violated 10 jewelry design principles.

Ferris is hoping the contest, which was mostly a nice break from her day-to-day routine, will help turn people’s attention to her more serious works.

“Hopefully I will get some calls from people asking for photos of what I really do,” she said.

As far as the necklace, it will return home from Nashville where it was displayed in the Land of Odds store during the contest. Although it hasn’t garnered enough attention to go on a worldwide tour, there’s a possibility it will make an appearance at the Southern Foodways Alliance, an organization devoted to the preservation of traditional Southern foods and recipes. If not, Ferris said she will keep the necklace and show it to anyone interested in seeing her “ugly art.”