Eni's Tutorial challenge at Bead and Button

There's an Eni Oken Groupie Challenge going on at the Bead and Button Forum. The challenge objectives are to create a new style or design, based on any one of my tutorials, using the method of "progressions".

You must create 4 of 5 progressive variations, that is, start the first one with more or less the same results as the chosen tutorial. The second one is a variation on the first one. The third one a variation on the second one and so on.

This is an exercise I used to do with my fantasy design students, and usually is a great way to come up with new alternatives that you wouldn't have thought of.
The deadline for submitting all the variations is September 30, 2006.

You MUST submit it at Bead & Button Forum, NOT directly to me. Go to the forum and register for free if you are still not a member of that community. Here is a direct link to the topic where the discussions are being posted: Eni Oken Groupie Challenge.

After September 30, I will be judging each progression and will award one of my pieces to the one that I feel was the most successful.

Important to remember, even if you are a beginner, that the goal is NOT to make it more complex, but yet to DEVELOP A NEW STYLE AND DESIGN. The winner will be the one that can manage to have the best balance between design, balance, technique and creativity -- not complexity.
Here are some of the parameters I will be using to judge each progression:

  • Was the progression able to really create a brand new style, or not?
  • How balanced and harmonious is the final design?
  • Creativity versus execution: how well did the progressions manage to create a brand new design, without stretching/compromising execution and technique?
  • Technique: is the execution clean and well made?
  • Are the progressions really linked to each other, that is, can you clearly see the influence of the previous one over the next?

    I always like to encourage beginners to participate. So I will pay particular attention to the PROGRESSION and ability to create a new design, and not to the level of intricacy of the initial tutorial chosen. You can select any tutorial you like.
  • 2006, ArchiveEni Oken