Battle of the Rings: Ring Smackdown 2021
Battle of the Rings otherwise known as the Ring Smackdown, is a head-to-head, tournament style, single-elimination juried competition and virtual event with a top prize of $500. Our esteemed jurors, Cappy Counard and Kirk Lang have selected 64 rings from a pool of 166 to compete during the month of May, 2021. The jurors have “drafted” 32 rings each onto their teams, The Shanks and The Mandrel. Matches between the teams are posted daily to our Instagram page and story, (up to four per day!) May 3-28 (extended to June 4!) at 9:00AM PST. VOTE FOR YOUR FAVORITES for up to 24 hours –one vote per person per ring- in our Instagram poll. The ring with the most vote will advance into the next round. All selected rings are available to purchase!
View and read about ALL of the rings HERE
View ALL the daily the matches HERE
View the 2021 CHAMPION ring HERE
How to Participate:
All voting happens online, at the Danaca Design Studio Instagram account only @danacadesignstudio. Read about the rings first (see above). Voting happens through our Instagram Stories. While in the app, tap our flower icon above our account name. This will reveal our current story. Pick your favorite rings that day by tapping "TOP" or "BOTTOM" OR “LEFT” or “RIGHT” in the poll. You can view the poll multiple times before voting but you can only vote once. The winner of the Instagram poll advances into the next round. Click on the links in the Instagram post to view more pictures of each ring.
One Ring to Rule Them All; May the Best Ring Win!
Rules:
- One submission per artist
- The ring must be an original design created by submitting artist
- The ring must not exceed 4x4x4 inches
- The ring must fit fingers between sizes 5-10
- No restriction on the nature of material used or shape within above parameters.
- The retail price of the ring must not exceed $1,200
About the Jurors
Cappy earned an MFA from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale in 1999 and a BS in Art from the University of Wisconsin – Madison in 1992. She exhibits, lectures and demonstrates throughout the United States and her work is featured in several books including, SNAG Jams 2019, Narrative Jewelry and Behind the Brooch. Recently, Cappy curated an exhibition titled Forging a Link: Metalsmiths Respond to the Mercer Collection at the Mercer Museum in Doylestown, PA, and her jewelry became part of both the Helen Drutt English Collection in New York, NY as well as the Porter-Price Collection in Columbia, South Carolina.
Cappy resides in Edinboro, Pennsylvania where she has been a Professor of Metals and Jewelry at Edinboro University since 1999. Teaching is as integral to her practice as making. The act of building community and sharing knowledge contributes greatly to the evolution of her work.
Cappy writes:
In my own history, the kitchen has always been the hub and heart of home. It is the domain of mothers and grandmothers, a place of gathering, offering and warmth. My work references tools of nourishment found in the kitchen as a metaphor for shared experience. By utilizing the bowl form these Objects of Connection reflect my desire to bridge divides and honor relationship.
Finding the capacity for interconnection requires both intention and care, and so I engage in meticulous repetitive acts of making while I think about mending and uniting. Through incremental change I build a space where differences merge into something in-between. It is in this place of interaction that we can find possibility, connection and even belonging.
Kirk Lang is a Seattle based goldsmith, sculptor and educator. He holds a MFA from the University of Washington in Interdisciplinary Visual Arts and a BFA from the Cleveland Institute of Art in Jewelry & Metals. Kirk has taught regionally and nationally at the University of Washington, North Seattle College, Pratt Fine Arts Center, Danaca Design and Penland. His work can be seen in such publications as MJSA Journal, 500 Metal Vessels, 500 Necklaces, 1000 Rings and Metalsmith Magazine. He was selected for a solo exhibition at the Metals Museum in 2014 and for inclusion in the 2016 Biennial at the Bellevue Arts Museum. He has received several awards including an Artist Trust Fellowship, Artist Trust GAP Grant and an Individual Project Grant from 4Culture. Most recently, he received a Saul Bell Design Award for his jewelry in both 2019 and 2020. Recurring themes in his work include time, space and mythology, in the form of mechanical interactive objects.
Kirk writes:
The wearable objects I create directly reflect my interest in astronomy and space exploration. The shapes, textures, materials and color palette found in the celestial environment are all elements that find their way into my work. Specific materials such as titanium, niobium and meteorite are chosen, as they are often used to construct components to explore space or naturally exist in space itself. In addition, softer and more malleable metals such as silver, gold or platinum are selected to compliment the rigid qualities of the aforementioned materials. The intended result is to make one of a kind wearable pieces that are functional, durable and evoke a sense of curiosity.