Nail Art Celebrating Making the Top 12
Our Top 12 can finally breathe easy after braving two preliminary rounds of competition. There were no rules for making these nails, as we wanted our finalists to be as creative as possible in celebrating their success.
Amber Dunson (Bossier City, La.)
I am still on cloud nine about making top 12. It’s just unbelievable. Again, thank you so much for this incredible opportunity. I am beyond elated.
Cate Widemire (Wickliffe, Ohio)
This calls for a celebration! A million thanks for achieving a place in the coveted Nails Next Top Nail Artist Top 12. It is important to acknowledge everyone who took time away from important tasks to support my journey. Raise your glasses to celebrate the artistic talents each one of us possess and to the new friendships we have made and still have to make. Congratulations to the Top 12!
Dana Cecil (Dover, Ohio)
So really, a million things flew through my mind. I was like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz. I thought, if I was a mermaid, and I found out I made it to Top 12, I’d do a super swirl swim out of the ocean and to the stars! So here’s my beautiful, happy, glittery, amazing, twirling mermaid reaching for her star in the Top 12 of NAILS Next Top Nail Artist! If you count the teal crystals, there are 12, because I wholeheartedly believe in the friendships I’ve created with these amazing nail artists. So the 12 crystals represent us all, sparkling together.
Deanna White (Fairview, Alberta, Canada)
Making the Top 12 made me feel like I could just jump up and fly right off this planet propelled by my excitement. It feels like I’m living in the clouds, which reminded me of an album cover by one of my favorite musicians. My heart’s exploding with happiness!
Jonny Pham (Sydney)
Making the Top 12 was quite surreal. My emotions went from jubilation and excitement to some sorrow. I was happy because I had managed to progress to the Top 12, which I feel is an amazing feat. However, I was a little depressed and quite sad to say goodbye to my friends in the competition, as I thought everyone did a great job. To show my mixed emotions for this challenge, I combines hand painting and 3-D elements. I also decided to show the kaleidoscope of bright colors to portray the feeling of excitement I have. I brought the NTNA family into my art to portray the joint celebration of all of our progressions to the next stages of the competition. The roller coaster shows the highs of progressing and continuing my involvement (ecstasy and excitement ) and lows (sadness and sorrow ) that I felt when my fellow nail technicians and contestants were eliminated from the previous round(s). The stars signify all the contestants and the opening and bursting of a bottle of champagne signifies the celebration of friendships that were formed from being part of NTNA. Last but not least I am feeling a step closer to Chicago.
I cannot express my gratitude enough to the organizers and sponsors of this competition for the opportunity to be involved. Thank you for allowing me to take part and I hope I can continue to push my creative juices and boundaries within NTNA. My thanks also to the sponsors of the competition, as well as to NAILS Magazine and CND.
Katey Laurenson (Auckland, New Zealand)
I’m extremely excited and feel very lucky to have been selected for this season’s Top 12 of NTNA. I’m also slightly nervous and that’s normal right? Competing at this level is completely new to me and is completely pushing myself to new limits as is making videos! I’d really like to thank NAILS Magazine and CND for such an amazing experience! I am honored to be a part of such an elite Top 12! I want to bring my work to the next level in this competition and I hope along the way I can inspire other New Zealand artists to look abroad at competing.
Liina Leino (Helsinki)
I’m so surprised that I made it to the Top 12. I’m competing against the most talented nail techs in the world and I was actually really scared during the last week when I was waiting for the results. I went through different ways to announce my failure to people in my head and accepted my defeat. So in the end, the cow really jumped over the moon, and Hey Diddle Diddle I’m over the moon happy too!
Lisa Bennett (Bakersfield, Calif.)
It feels like a dream to be in the Top 12. I am beyond honored to be considered for this competition. I am absolutely blessed to be a part of this amazing and creative industry and to have my work in the pages of this iconic publication. Your whole life you have dreams. You think on how they might come to be. You must never give up trying to achieve them, even if it is just a seed or sprout in the back of your heart. Never give up hope for good things. Never cease to dream. Don’t waste another day, open your book and live. Always keep your fire burning.
Liza Waitzman (San Diego)
Being in this competition and making it into the Top 12 has been so overwhelming and exciting. So for me, its all so surreal. It’s like a magical unicorn that farts rainbows and sprinkles glitter everywhere. It feels unreal to me and yet makes me so giddy and I giggle when I think about it. So I introduce to you, La Cochina, my magical unicorn. Careful, she’s a crop duster… She’ll glitter bomb you!
Tracey Lee (Eindhoven, Netherlands)
I had a giggle to myself when I decided to do this particular piece. I had the idea of “On top of the world,” and while Googling I came across various songs with this text. That was the end of it, I have had the Carpenters giving me a private concert 24/7! Since hearing about making it into the Top 12 I have been feeling like I am on top of the world. My head is exploding with new ideas, hence the open skull (check out the brain power). I am feeling grateful too as NTNA is giving us all an opportunity to expand our network and thereby share our creations with people all around the world. I am feeling rich thanks to all the support I am receiving from Nails Magazine, CND, fellow contestants, other nail technicians, friends, and family. This is a great place to be!
Tracy Vinson (Forest, Va.)
I feel like my fairy godmother has just granted my wish of a dream come true! At the same time, I feel scared to death of the unknown along the way. Kind of like when Dorothy and the others were on their way to the Emerald City…they knew their reward was in sight, but had to fight the obstacles along the way to get there.
Trisha Johnson (Shelby Township, Mich.)
I chose to do these on myself, because I more than deserved to have some rockin’ summer, party, and celebration nails, full of glitter, flowers, and sparkle, to show off for all my hard work! To be chosen as one of the NTNA Top 12 amongst all of the best and most elite nail artists in the world, feels like an amazing honor. I’ve finally reached a level of ultimate confidence as a person and an artist, inside and out. I’ve dreamt of a moment like this my entire 20+ years as a nail professional and am embracing it fully!
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