October Monthly Challenge

ABS Art for October Inspiration

Hildreth Meiere 1892-1961

Drama Medallion, Radio City Music Hall, 1932

About the Art
On the façade of the International Music Hall fronting on Fiftieth Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues, are three of these ornaments.  The three are circular and eighteen feet in diameter.  Each is placed sixty feet above the sidewalk forming a complete decorative scheme in harmony with the entire development.
Oscar Bach, metal craftsman, who personally undertook the execution of these plaques, following a design by Hildreth Meiers, said yesterday that they were the first and only building decorations of this type in the world. They required six months to build.
“These plaques are akin to gargantuan pieces of jewelry,” Mr. Bach said yesterday.  “No machinery being available to cast these huge figures we were obliged to beat them into shape by hand in the manner of a silversmith.  The riot of colors that are part of this scheme are due to a special enameling process we have used calling for a lavish display of genuine vitreous enamel.  This process is almost imperishable.  I believe these plaques will last as long as the universe. This is not hard to comprehend when I tell you that these plaques are chromium steel, duraluminum, bronze, brass and copper.  And each has a specified purpose in the makeup of the pieces.  Indeed, it is interesting to note that in recent Egyptian discoveries the enamels uncovered are in an almost perfect state of preservation, being as bright and shiny today as they were when they were made thousands of years ago.
“It was necessary to execute these three plaques and also the thirty-seven feet long rectangular one on the north façade of the RKO Photoplay theatre entirely by hand.”
New York Herald Tribune, November 13, 1932

About the Artist
Hildreth Meière a distinguished Art Deco muralist, mosaicist, painter and decorative artist, ranks with the very small number of women artists -- such as Violet Oakley, Berenice Abbott, Isabel Bishop and Georgia O'Keeffe -- whose achievements gained the recognition of the established art world during the first half of this Century.
Educated at New York's Convent of the Sacred Heart, Manhattanville, the Art Students’ League, the California School of Fine Arts (now the San Francisco Art Institute), the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and in Florence, Italy, she became the country's leading practitioner of the art of mosaic, and one of America's most gifted embellishers of architectural environments.

The Prizes:

Winners will be randomly chosen from all the qualifying entries on November 1st.

Our sponsors this month are sponsors: Cindy Gimbrone, and Artisan Clay please visit us tomorrow to see the prizes!

Featured Designer of the Week:

From all the entries during the month, an editor is going to pick their favorite design to be featured every Monday here on the ABS. We want to give our participants more time in the spotlight! Our Featured Designer will be this Monday, so get those entries in soon.

How to enter the Monthly Challenge:

1. Create something using an art bead that fits within our monthly theme. We post the art to be used as your inspiration to create. This challenge is open to jewelry-makers, fiber artists, collage artist, etc. The art bead can be created by you or someone else. The challenge is to inspire those who use art beads and to see all the different ways art beads can be incorporated into your handiwork.

***Beads by themselves and beads simply strung on a chain, wire or cord will not be accepted.***

2. Upload your photo to our flickr group. Detailed instructions can be found here and click here for a tutorial for sending your picture to the group.

Please add the tag or title OCT ABS to your photos. Include a short description, who created the art beads and a link to your blog, if you have one.

Deadline is October 31st. Photos are approved by our moderators, if a photo hasn't followed the guidelines it will not be approved. You may upload 2 photos a day.

What is an Art Bead?
An art bead is a bead, charm, button or finding made by an independent artist. Art beads are the vision and handiwork of an individual artist. You can read more about art beads here.

***A bead that is handmade is not necessarily an art bead. Hill Tribe Silver, Kazuri ceramic beads or lampwork beads made in factories are examples of handmade beads that are not considered art beads.
Beaded beads, stamped metal pendants or wire-wrapped components are not considered art beads for our challenge.***

p.s. If you have a blog, post your entry and a link to the ABS challenge to spread the beady goodness.