The Exotic Blanks Advanced Beautiful Pen Contest

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mredburn

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This is the first year for the Exotic Blanks Advanced Beautiful Pen contest and I would like to cordially invite all of you to participate in this years contest. This contest is show off your work in a traditional styled Roller Ball or Fountain Pen.
This is a great chance to show your talents and join in the Bash festivities for this year. I look forward to some great entries with all the talent we have on this forum. If you have any questions don't hesitate to contact me.
Rules For the Exotic Blanks Advanced Beautiful Pen Contest.

Mike




You will have 19 days to submit a pen.


Here are the rules:​
1 - This is a contest challenging advanced pen makers to make the most Beautiful Pen.
"To participate in this or any other IAP activity your public profile must contain your real first and last name as well as you place of residence (city & state or equivalent). Please be advised that information contained in the public profile is not viewable by non-members of the IAP. Members who have failed to successfully complete any previous IAP activities, and who have been notified by the Activities Manager of such, are not eligible to participate in any IAP activities."

2 - It may be either a Roller Ball pen or a Fountain pen. NO Ball Point Pens, there are other contests for ball point pens. It must be a conventional style Pen. NO Flutes, Enterprise Space Ships or cigar shapes, etc. Those are for the Free Style pen contest.
3- Materials and Methods; The pen may be constructed from whatever materials(s) you choose. Conventional or unconventional. You may make the pen with ready made components from kits, completely kitless or any stage in-between. You can make the pen using any tools available to you as long as you make the pen. That includes but is not limited to wood lathes, metal lathes, cnc equipment , Mills, casting equipment, etc.

4 - Only one pen per person, It may not have been entered in any of the other Bash contests. Take the best pictures you can because the quality of your pen will be based on what we can see. Keep your backgrounds and props simple so they do not distract from your pen.
A maximum of 3 photos will be allowed.
We would like to keep the entries anonymous through the use of the entry form.

5 - The pen must be made for the contest by the person entering the contest and not have been shown before Feb 1 2013 on IAP or any other site. If it is determined that it has been, it will be disqualified and any prize won will be forfeited. As a follow-up to clarify this, do NOT post a photo of your entry ANYWHERE until the contest is over and the winners have been announced.

- Finalists will be chosen based on
Workmanship- The Overall fit and finish. It should be flawless.
Use of material - Composition and originality.
Over all looks – We want the most beautiful pens.
Apparent writing comfort.- Does the pen look comfortable for writing.
Durability- How well does it look like it will hold up to use.
A panel of judges will choose the top 5 pens and the winner will be chosen by an open poll.
Prizes will be awarded for first, second and third places.
Submissions:
All entries are due 11:59pm EST. Febuary 18th
You must use the entry form that will be provided to submit your pen.
The poll will be posted on Feb. 21st, and voting will end on Feb. 28th and the voting results will become public at that time.

All entries will be posted at the same time following the contests deadline. This will give all entries the same time "in the spotlight".

1st place ---TBA
2nd place---TBA
3rd place---TBA
 
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mredburn

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IF you have any questions concerning eligible materials or questions in general I will answer them as soon as I am able. I look forward to a great start on a new contest and expect to see some fantastic work.
 

ed4copies

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Hey Mike,

You may want to type a few words on the subject of "purchased blanks". Laser cut, special color effects, scroll-sawn work, etc.

Thank you (this time in public) for volunteering to chair this event!! The only downside is the event loses a very able competitor--Mike Redburn!!

We (Dawn and I) sincerely appreciate your involvement!!
Ed
 

mredburn

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Since this is the first year and I am encouraging participation. blanks made by someone other than the turner, that includes feathers, painted, clay, laser inlay, will be allowed. Your allowed to use all the pieces in a kit or none at all and anywhere in between. Originality in design and execution are two of the key elements in the judging process but that doesn't mean you cant win. The only way to absolutely guarantee that you wont win is to not enter.
 

mredburn

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Rats thats right. What was I thinking................

However on a great note we have our first submission. Its a beautiful pen and its sets the bar for the rest to come. Id show it to you but you will just have to wait. I dont know if there is a prize for first submission in the contest but maybe there should be.
 

mredburn

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We have two submissions in the Exotic blank Advanced Beautiful Pen contest. both of them great pens. But I know there are lots more great pen makers out there just waiting to submit a winning pen into the contest.
 

mredburn

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We have our third entry into the Exotic Blanks Beautiful Pen contest. These pens are really looking good.
 

mredburn

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The 4th entry is in and they just keep getting better. Its still not to late to design, build and enter a pen.
 

Haynie

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What blows is when you plan design and order your stuff, only to be notified WHEN THE PACKAGE ARRIVES that the most crucial part is back ordered. ERG!
 

Ed McDonnell

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Other things that blow:

1) You spend two weeks making your masterpiece of technical accomplishment and your wife tells you that it is the ugliest pen you've ever made when you show it to her....

2) You design plan B which is much more beautiful than the previous pen, and then you sit and wait for the supplies you ordered to either be found by UPS who has lost them or for the vendor to decide to send a replacement. Or you order additional material from a new vendor and then watch as they do nothing with your order day after day.

3) You sort through your huge bucket of failures looking for bits and pieces that could maybe be cobbled together into a beautiful pen before the deadline.

Ed
 

mredburn

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Or like my entry last year you mistakenly thought you had one more day and your pen is "a day late and a Dollar short" LOL:biggrin: I hate when that happens. I have made pens that seemed like a good idea at the time. I get it made and I wonder what the heck was I thinking.:confused:
 

Haynie

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Looks like my attempt will not be finished and mine is not the only one. I look forward to seeing what others have accomplished.
 

BRobbins629

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Other things that blow:

1) You spend two weeks making your masterpiece of technical accomplishment and your wife tells you that it is the ugliest pen you've ever made when you show it to her....

2) You design plan B which is much more beautiful than the previous pen, and then you sit and wait for the supplies you ordered to either be found by UPS who has lost them or for the vendor to decide to send a replacement. Or you order additional material from a new vendor and then watch as they do nothing with your order day after day.

3) You sort through your huge bucket of failures looking for bits and pieces that could maybe be cobbled together into a beautiful pen before the deadline.

Ed

What blows is when you plan design and order your stuff, only to be notified WHEN THE PACKAGE ARRIVES that the most crucial part is back ordered. ERG!

Looks like my voodoo dolls are working:devil:
 

mredburn

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We have 7 great entries so far and they just keep getting better. Im looking forward to the next pens as we start to get closer to deadline for entries. Great pens guys keep em coming
 

mredburn

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We are headed into the final weekend for the Exotic Blanks beautiful pen contest. I hope every one is buckling down to "get er done" We have 8 great entries so far but plenty of room for more. I know there is a great pen just waiting to be submitted. Maybe its yours.
 

Ed McDonnell

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I'm so buckled down I feel like I'm going to puke. Although, maybe it's the effects of that potion I took to ward off the bad mojo from Bruce and his voodoo dolls, rather than the stress of the looming deadline.

One way or another, I'm going to have an entry, no matter how lame it is. One lesson I've learned is that it takes way longer to deuglify a pen than it does to make a new one. At least I finally got my resin, so maybe there is still hope....

Ed

Who hopes to git er done soon.....
 

mredburn

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THere is always hope, even if its just your competitors hoping you dont make it.:biggrin:
 

mredburn

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9 entries and counting. We are headed into the final weekend for the Exotic Blanks Beautiful Pen Contest and picking a winner is going to be tough. Thank you to all who have submitted a pen so far. Bruce has lifted his voodoo curse and the jungle drums are silent. With a little over 72 hours left there is still plenty of time to make and submit a great pen.
 

mredburn

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We are coming down to the wire and there are 10 entries so far. I can feel the tension mounting as the time is ticking down. Good luck finishing those pens!
 

Ed McDonnell

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Well, I've decided to call mine done. There are a couple more small embellishments I would like to do, but if doing them destroyed one of the parts there isn't enough time to make a replacement. So, it's done.

Now I've got to get a decent picture.

Ed
 

mredburn

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We have had a couple more entries come in today as we head down the home stretch. Remember you do have tomorrow night until almost midnight to finish it if you havent started yet.:rolleyes::eek:
 

mredburn

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We have 15 entries and less than 24 hours to "get er done" I hope the extra time over the weekend let you finish up a pen.
 

InvisibleMan

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I have a commission pen I should be finishing up tomorrow. I may toss it in the ring. It's the only pen I've been able to work on during the bash so far.
 

mredburn

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Running out of time

Just a little over 12 hours left to start your pen and 4 more to finish it. If you havent started your pen you might want to do so now!:eek:
 

mredburn

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Less than 12 hours to get a pen made and submitted. I know there are hundreds of you just waiting until the last minute to sneak that winning pen in.:biggrin:
 
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Ed McDonnell

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Would be a shame if someone waited until the last minute and then found out that their internet provider had gone down. Since I use Comcrap for my internet service, I know to never wait for the last minute for anything.

Ed
 
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