Altamont Native Honored with Conceptual Jewelry Niche Award

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SAVANNAH, GA (03/12/2013)(readMedia)-- Altamont native, 2009 Guilderland High School graduate, and SCAD School of Design student, Corrina Goutos, was honored last month with a 2013 NICHE Award for excellence and fine craft in design. Goutos won in the category Jewelry: Conceptual, for her work, "Lim(b)itless."

Goutos's work is inspired by her background in Altamont, which exposed her to both the mountainous scenery of rural New York while allowing her to experience a rich variety of cultures with the city's close proximity to urban Albany and New York City. As a youth Goutos won a local museum's self-portrait contest, which significantly impacted her decision to be a professional artist.

When she discovered that jewelry would give her artwork a three dimensional way to interact with the viewer, her concepts shifted in a different direction. "Contextualizing art on the body, I believe, enables jewelry to have an intimate dialogue with the wearer- unlike any other art form," Goutos said. "The Jewelry and Objects department at SCAD pushed me above and beyond my expectations. I was encouraged to define, redefine, and defend my understanding of what 'jewelry' is."

Goutos's entries were among 40 pieces of artwork selected for top honors from a pool of nearly 1,000 submitted by professional and student artists. Judges considered entries for technical excellence in surface design and form, and on distinct quality of unique, original and creative thought.

Contest winners were announced Feb. 16, at the Buyers Market of American Craft, a wholesale art trade show at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia, and winning artwork will be listed prominently in the spring 2013 issue of NICHE magazine, a trade publication for retailers of artist-made and American-made products.

Sponsored by NICHE magazine, the NICHE Awards program began in 1989 to celebrate excellence and innovation in American and Canadian fine craft and recognizes the creative achievements of professional and student artists based in the United States and Canada.

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The Savannah College of Art and Design is a private, nonprofit, accredited institution conferring bachelor's and master's degrees at distinctive locations and online to prepare talented students for professional careers. SCAD offers degrees in more than 40 majors. Visit scad.edu.