First Prize Winner – Silvermine Guild – 18th Annual Student Art Show

I am most grateful to have been given this prize. Floral Notes of the Alhambra was the very first formal piece of jewelry created in workshop studio at Silvermine under the skilled and talented teacher Raychel Wengenroth. The process of creating this piece is memorable because inspiration came from the teachings and lectures of people from a variety of walks of life. Most notable are two lectures that I attended. The first lecture given by Mr. Haratoun Merzian who discussed the use of iconography of the cross on 9th and 12th century Armenian gravestones. The second lecture given by Dr. Abraham Terian on Icons as depicted in early manuscripts. To quote Dr. Terian “The image of God in us is our intellect,” and “An image of an image of an archetype is imperative to capture the sole.” I also would like to express my gratitude to
Silvermine judge Nicholas Halco. Mr. Halco has been described as an “impartial observer realistic, direct and formal who reveals a clarity of vision and a quiet reverence for nature’s sensibility” in a review written in the New Haven Register. His paintings are in permanent public collections such as the Slater Memorial Museum in Norwich, Parson’s Center in Milford, and the Health Center, as well as in private collections in the U.S. and abroad.