Art Tales Writing Contest

Mayor honors 2012 Art Tales winners June 6 at EP Foster Library reading

The City of Ventura is pleased to announce the winners of the fourth annual Art Tales creative writing contest. Area youth, high school and adult writers submitted 72 short stories and poems inspired by Municipal Art Collection works of art currently on loan at the E.P. Foster Library created by Joseph Piasentin, Cassandra Jones, Bruce Freeman, Lee Hodges and Carol Rosenak. The public, family and friends are invited to hear the winners read from their entries at the library located at 651 East Main Street in Ventura on Wednesday, June 6, 5:30-6:30 pm. The living visual artists have also been invited to attend to meet the writers; the event will also celebrate the installation of the large new “Tropical Frieze” mural by artist Jack Halbert. Refreshments will be served. Mayor Mike Tracy will present the cash prizes for 1st and 2nd place, certificates to 3rd place, bound editions of the winning entries to all winners and journals to all youth winners.

Youth Fiction Prizes
1st Sarah Yenney: Creating This
2nd Alexandra Avila: The Flamingo Mystery
3rd Kaden Pryor: The Coming

Youth Poetry Prizes
1st Connor Aimes: Deception Flower
2nd Makayla Ann Pratt: As Their Red Tails Collide
3rd Courtney Caldwell: I Swim

High School Fiction Prizes
1st Annabelle Warren: I Love You, I'm Sorry
2nd Kienna Kulzer: Colors

High School Poetry Prizes
1st Garrett Pupa: Flowers of Life
2nd Cece Castañeda: What the Chairs Saw
3rd Marco Cuevas: A Typical Day by the Pool

Adult Poetry Prizes[no Adult Fiction entries]
1st Maggie Westland: Expectations
2nd F. Albert Salinas: Blind Faith
3rd Tim Pompey: Raramor

The four contest judges were poet/literary journal Askew co-editor Friday Lubina, Head Librarian for E.P. Foster Library Mary Stewart, visual artist/Oxnard College Fine Art professor/City of Ventura Public Art Commissioner Claudia Pardo and Community Partnerships Manager Denise Sindelar, who said, “We thank the judges who evaluated all these works on their creativity and who reported to me they were very impressed with the number of high quality submissions."

ART TALES CONTEST BACKGROUND

“The City of Ventura was pleased to partner with E.P. Foster Library in hosting this annual contest, which calls for imaginative and inventive writers to examine a work of art and then write a short story or poem reflecting their unique interpretation,” said Community Partnerships Manager Denise Sindelar of the City of Ventura Department of Parks, Recreation & Community Partnerships.

“The Municipal Art Collection was envisioned in 1999 to make the artwork of leading local artists accessible to the community by displaying the collection in the public areas of City Hall and other municipal buildings. The display at E.P. Foster Library marks the fourth of many planned exhibits or loans to be sited outside City Hall.”

The Municipal Art collection, on permanent exhibit in City Hall, continues to be an important attraction for both residents and visitors. Since its inception in 1999, the collection has grown to include 92 works by 71 artists, each of whom have made a significant contribution to the history of visual art in Ventura county – a main criterion of acquisition. The collection showcases the breadth and diversity of the county’s visual art community through the representation of multiple media, including sculpture, painting, photography, etching, and ceramics.

The Municipal Art Acquisition Program was established to document the history of visual art in Ventura through the annual purchase of important works of art created by area artists. The Municipal Art Acquisition Committee, a sub-committee of the Public Art commission, oversees the purchase of new artworks. The entire collection may be viewed online at www.cityofventura.net/publicart.

For more info contact Denise Sindelar at 805/658-4793 or dsindelar@cityofventura.net.

“Art Tales” poetry & short story writing contest entries due April 2, 2012-deadline extended!

The City of Ventura, in partnership with E.P. Foster Library, is pleased to announce the fourth annual “Art Tales,” a unique contest for creative writers that is open to all Ventura County residents. To enter submit a short story or poem by April 2, 2012, inspired by one of the Municipal Art Collection works of art currently on loan to the E.P. Foster Library, 651 E Main St. The exhibit, located on the second floor near the rear (children's) entrance opens Oct. 17, 2011.

Each piece in this year's selection of artwork represents the artist's process of creating "Today's Symbolic Images":

1. Chairs Series IV, 1992, oil on paper by Carol Rosenak (1926-2002)
2. CR 8.01 & 9.00, 2000, tradigital etching by Joseph Piasentin (b. 1950)
3. Rara Avis Orchids, 2007, archival C-print by Cassandra C. Jones (b. 1975)
4. Approved, 2001, mixed media on paper by Lee Hodges (b. 1950)
5. Chaise Lounge, 1983, limited edition serigraph by Bruce Freeman (b. 1953)

The contest provides an excellent opportunity for local writers of all ages to exhibit their written skills while challenging them to view art in a new way. It also furthers the goals of the Municipal Art Collection, envisioned in 1999 to make the artwork accessible to the community by displaying the collection in the public areas of City Hall and other municipal buildings.

CONTEST RULES: QUALIFIED ENTRIES shall be (a) either a single short story or poem (no multiple entries per person allowed) (b) no longer than 600 words (c) written solely by the entrant (d) not previously published (e) nor in conflict with trademark, copyright, rights of privacy, rights of publicity or any other rights, of any kind or nature, of any other person or entity; (f) which does not include any language or other content that is indecent or inappropriate as determined by the CITY in its discretion. Entries not satisfying these criteria in any respect will be disqualified.

Entries will be accepted in either English or Spanish, in 12 point font, and must include at the top, the author’s name, address, phone mumber, email address, age, title of work and number of words. Entries must be submitted electronically by March 1, 2012 to rnewsham@cityofventura.net and please place "Art Tales" in the subject box of the email. Also attach a completed release form (pdf) (f orma de acuerdo de prensa en espanol) with your entry. Parents must complete the form for children under 18. This pdf form is a fill-able and save-able document that you can save as a document on your desktop, complete, save and then email along with your poem or short story.

Entries will be judged by a committee of professionals, educators, librarians, and City of Ventura staff for creativity, presentation and correspondence to a specific artwork.

In addition to seeing their stories published on the city’s website, winners will receive a bound edition of the winning entries and a cash prize of $30 for first place and $15 for second place in three age categories: Youth (grades 2-8), High School (grades 9-12), and Adult (ages 18 and up).

The Municipal Art Collection, on permanent exhibit in City Hall, continues to be an important attraction for both residents and visitors. Since its inception in 1999, the collection has grown to include more than 90 works by 70 artists, each of whom have made a significant contribution to the history of visual art in Ventura County – a main criterion of acquisition. The collection showcases the breadth and diversity of the county’s visual art community through the representation of multiple media, including sculpture, painting, photography, etching, and ceramics.

The Municipal Art Acquisition Program was established to document the history of visual art in Ventura through the annual purchase of important works of art created by area artists. The Municipal Art Acquisition Committee, a sub-committee of the Public Art Commission, oversees the purchase of new artworks. The entire collection may be viewed online at www.cityofventura.net/publicart.

For more contest information contact: Richard Newsham at 805.658.4706 or Denise Sindelar at 805.658.4793.

Artworks for 2012 Art Tales: Today's Symbolic Images

Click links below for PDF documents:

NEW! Lesson plan specific to the 2012 Art Tales images

NEW! Three model poems that accompany the lesson plan above

Art Tales Rules & Guidelines

View or Print all five artworks

Art Tales Release Form

Cuentos de Arte forma de acuerdo de prensa en espanol

Art Tales Lesson Plan for Teachers

Art Tales Postcard

2011Bridge Gallery Art Tales Exhibit at City Hall & EP Foster Library -- last year's poems with images provide great examples or models to follow for the 2012 contest

Teachers, use the seven links above as a TEACHERS KIT to prepare your lesson plan. Enter your entire class in the contest! For more assistance contact Richard Newsham at 658-4706 or rnewsham@cityofventura.net

Click titles below to view or reproduce individual images for the 2012 contest on 8.5" x 11" sheets.

Chairs Series IV, 1992, oil on paper
Carol Rosenak (1926-2002), known for her hyperrealist style, considered still life painting her best, most evolved work. With perfect linear precision and a heightened vibrancy of color, her interior scenes juxtapose everyday items, such as pushpins and chairs, with delicate flowers and vases.

CR 8.01 & 9.00, 2000, tradigital etching
For Joseph Piasentin (b. 1950), Pepperdine University professor of painting and drawing, personal vision becomes bold experimentation through “tradigital etching” which combines traditional printmaking techniques with digital, collage and embossing elements.

Rara Avis Orchids, 2007, archival C-print
Cassandra C. Jones (b. 1975), creates digitally collaged images from found photographs—the result of her gathering thousands of other people’s snapshots and organizing, adjusting and (de)constructing the resulting arrangements to present them in new visually and intellectually surprising ways. For Rara Avis Orchids the intensely visual pink flowers blooming on a white background are constructed entirely of appropriated images of flamingos meticulously reconstructed and digitally printed into an ornate pattern.

Approved, 2001, mixed media on paper
Lee Hodges (b. 1950) filters her own spirituality through the artistic process, creating collages that juxtapose faith and the traditionally secular space of the gallery. Using “the gift of creativity which has brought me such joy and fulfillment” the artist aims “to produce work that is artistically inventive, spiritually uplifting and thought provoking.”

Chaise Lounge, 1983, limited edition serigraph
Bruce Freeman (b. 1953)—a popular Ventura College instructor of serigraphy (silk-screen process) known for his infectious passion for art, wine and life—promotes art making as an important means of self-fulfillment. His limited edition graphics are inspired by the “lights, shadows, colors and moments” of local landscapes “that expose themselves so distinctly.”