Jewelry Art Competition Has Gems Of Creativity On Display

National Jewelry Art Competition at Facere Jewelry Art, Century Square, 1501 Fourth Ave. through May 24; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday; 624-6768. ------------------------------------------------------------ There's gold, there's silver, there's even the occasional gem in the current display at Facere Jewelry Art. The worth of the work is based on something other than quantities of precious metals and stones, however. It's genuine, small-scale, functional art, expressive of much creative thought.

Among several prize winners - the exhibit was juried by Andy Cooperman and Carol Berry - look especially for a graceful winged shell bracelet by Noellyn Pepos. The piece is an example of several current trends in art jewelry: It's surprisingly light on the wrist, has movable elements in its design, and comes with its own display stand.

The metal brooch "My Kingdom" by Judith Starbuck also has a stand that makes a multi-part sculptural statement of its own. Starbuck has had fun with the brooch. The red-coated horseback rider can shed her coat and turn into Lady Godiva, or dismount entirely to leave her steed galloping alone. It's clear Starbuck remembers how to play.

Even jewelry that takes more traditional forms - for example, a pendant by Judy Laub, or a coat pin by Laurie Reese - has a strong air of individuality. Laub's spherical pendant swings like a censer on a set of four tiny chains, while Reese swirls gold with casual

grace around a long splinter of black onyx.

Although the scope of competition spread across North America, most of the 89 pieces in the Facere display are in fact by Northwest artists. Two locals with similar metalworking skill but varied styles are displayed side-by-side in one case. Marilyn Pushak of Seattle forms a circular silver skyline into her "Factories Bracelet," while Patrick Conlin of Bremerton casts far, far back for the linking motifs of his Celtic torque.

Sage Powers, like Conlin, seems at ease with an ancient vocabulary. The necklace "Kalypso" has a Minoan flair, its bright hand-blown glass beads shining in clear blue, green and white. With "Cone Worm," on which tiny encrusted stones cling beneath tentacles of translucent filament, Stacey Ammons presents a pin that might well have drowned with lost Atlantis.