Susan Ploeg
USA
Prize
Too Many Cups of Tea?
Akua ink and acrylic paint on paper, 7 ” x 9″
“I gathered tea cups and a creamer representing one day’s worth of tea drinking (okay, perhaps I minimized my indulgence here) and put a spotlight on them for dramatic shadows. The aerial view was to suggest a parade of cups and to reveal a variety of shapes.
I chose a graphic look by cutting the image from a soft carving block and printing it on my handmade “paste” paper prepared with methyl cellulose and acrylic paint. The methyl cellulose created a slight resist for the ink and created a texture. Although I pulled prints from plain, hand painted and decorative commercial papers, I chose this print because it suggests tea drinking under a leafy tree. Lounging outdoors with my tea says everything about my guilty pleasure…”
Chloe Frerichs
USA
Honorable Mention
Guilty Pleasure: Blasting on my Tuba
Akua ink and acrylic paint on paper, 7 ” x 9″
“I wanted to make a piece that was fun, light-spirited, and personal. It really is quite fun to play way too loud on my tuba, although it does often result with a disapproving stare from my band director.”
Mollie Redman
Honorable Mention
Healing
White colored pencil and permanent marker on paper, 8.5″x 11″
“My guilty pleasure is watching chiropractor videos on YouTube. I find satisfaction in the process through which a chiropractor locates the source of injury and subsequently fixes it with a quick crack of the vertebrae. The look of awe on the patient’s face after a correction happens almost instantaneously.
In my Art Dare piece I wanted to capture the moment right before an adjustment is made. At this point the patient is most relaxed and unaware of their surroundings. To suggest this, I made the hands melt into the background of pause and play buttons.”