Calendar Art Contest

Calendar Art Contest: The Cooperative Calendar of Student Art is the culmination of an art contest held each spring. Hosted by the Electric Consumer, it is a celebration of the works of students from all over the state. So get out your paintbrushes and canvas and start creating!

2013 Calendar Art Contest Rules:

Who can enter: Any Indiana student, attending any public or private school or educated at home, who is currently (for the 2011-12 school year) in the grades kindergarten through high school senior.
• Students do not have to be consumers of a rural electric cooperative (REMC/REC).
• Artwork can be submitted by teachers, 4-H leaders or others as a group or class project, or by individual students or their parents or guardians.
• Students may enter as often as they wish.

How does the contest work: Match the grade the student is in during the current (2011-12) school year to the corresponding month. Students should draw or paint a picture to illustrate their assigned month.

1st grade-January
2nd grade-February
3rd grade-March
4th grade-April
5th grade-May
6th grade-June
7th grade-July
8th grade-August
9th grade-September
10th grade-October
11th grade-November
12th grade-December

Kindergarten students will create the cover art. There is no theme for the cover: any subject, season, event, etc., is acceptable.

How is the contest judged: Artwork will be judged on artistic merit, originality, creativity, how well the assigned month is depicted and suitability for a wall calendar. Artwork can be landscapes, portraits, still lifes, etc., as long as the monthly theme is somehow portrayed. (Try new ideas; try not to repeat the winning works from past calendars!) A panel of judges will pick winners.

What are the rules for originality: Students and teachers/parents/guardians are responsible for entering only original works of art totally produced by the participating students.
• Artwork may not be copied from other sources without substantial creative changes; this includes other paintings and photographs — unless the photo was composed and/or taken by the student.
• Every element of the artwork (design, lines, marks, paint, color, shapes, shading, highlights, etc.) must be the work of the student whose name appears on the back of the artwork and be done by the student's hand.
• No tracing of other works is allowed, including sketches by teachers, parents. etc.
• Photographs and artwork created with a computer will not be judged for inclusion in the calendar.
• Artwork deemed to be too similar to a copied source or plagiarized will be disqualified. If plagiarism is discovered after awards are made and/or the calendar printed, Electric Consumer reserves the right to request the award money be returned. The student also may be disqualified from future contests, and the artwork and student’s name will be removed from our website gallery of past winners.

How should the artwork be submitted: Drawings should be no larger than 11x14 inches and no smaller than 8x10 inches. (Paintings on canvas can be larger.) Drawings on white or light-colored paper will reproduce best. Do not use ruled notebook paper.
• The artwork can be most any medium as long as the art is relatively flat. Charcoal and pastel drawings should be sprayed with a fixative. Do not use glitter, sand, liquids or other elements that can flake off or otherwise damage the works of other students. No photographic process, digital art, metallic or fluorescent paints may be used in the finished art.
• Artwork in the horizontal or landscape position best fits the wall calendar’s format.
• Artwork should stand alone as artwork: Please do not put the name of the month, days of the week or calendar dates into the art itself.
• Submit the original artwork. Judges will not consider photocopies.
• Do not mount, mat or frame artwork.
• Do not fold or crease artwork.

How should the artwork/artist be identified: One of two methods can be used to identify the art and artist depending where the artwork was created. Please use the most appropriate (this is important).

• Entries from home or a small group: On the back of each entry, in the lower right hand corner, include: student’s first and last name, age, grade, school, names of parents or guardians, home address and phone number.

In addition to information on the back of each entry, each entry must include a copy of the 2013 entry form (A) (available from Electric Consumer or downloaded from electricconsumer.org). The form must be signed by each student-artist and parent/guardian (if the student is under 18 years old) acknowledging that the student has adhered to the rules of originality and each submission is original according to the guidelines above.

• Entries from a large group, classroom or school: If including all the above information is impractical because of the number entries or a violation of school policy, a large group of simultaneous entries should include on the back of each entry, in the lower right hand corner, the student’s first and last name, grade and a contact phone number. Please make sure all information is included and legible, and group submissions are sorted by grade.

In addition to information on the back of each entry, each package of entries must include a copy of the   2013 entry form (B)   available from Electric Consumer or downloaded from electricconsumer.org. The form must be signed by the art instructor/classroom teacher acknowledging that the students have adhered to the rules of originality and each submission is original according to the guidelines above.

What are the Prizes: A first place “Artist of the Month” will be selected for each grade, kindergarten through 12, and will receive $200.
• Up to nine additional artists will be selected for honorable mention awards and receive $50. • An “Artist of the Year” also will be selected from among the first place winners for the Best of Show and receive an additional $100.
• Artists who win either their grade division or honorable mention awards will receive 10 complimentary copies of the 2013 calendar.
• Judges will also select Award of Merit winners who will receive certificates.

How will entrants be notified: Only first place and honorable mention winners will be notified by phone. Results will be published in a 2012 issue of Electric Consumer, at electricconsumer.org and in the 2013 calendar.

How will the artwork/artists be presented: The artwork and artists may be presented to the public in the following ways.
• First place winners from all grades will illustrate the designated month (or cover) of the 2013 Cooperative Calendar of Student Art, a wall calendar produced by Electric Consumer and distributed by participating Indiana electric cooperatives around the state.
• The name, hometown and school of each winning student will be printed in the calendar along with the student’s photograph. (Student photos will be requested after the contest is judged.)
• Up to nine additional pieces of art, chosen at large from all grades, will be chosen as honorable mentions and will be printed in a special back section of the calendar.
• The “Artist of the Year” will be featured in Electric Consumer, Indiana’s electric co-op publication, after the winners are selected in March 2012.
• Names of the winners and winning artwork may also be featured in Electric Consumer.
• Names of the winners and winning artwork may also be featured in news releases sent to local media outlets.
• In partnership with the Hoosier Salon, Electric Consumer may also retain winning artwork to be shown at Hoosier Salon exhibitions and galleries around Indiana.
• Additional pieces of artwork may be selected by participating REMCs/RECs for inclusion in localized versions of the calendar and in co-op publications or website.
• Some artwork also may be selected for publications or materials printed by Indiana Statewide Association of Rural Electric Cooperatives, Inc., to further publicize the art contest and calendar.

Rights: All artwork and reproduction rights become the property of Electric Consumer. This means we can print your artwork in the calendar, co-op publications, website and promotional materials and distribute artwork to the media for promotional purposes. We will respect the integrity of the artwork and will not allow the outside commercial use of entered artwork without permission of the artist (and parents/guardians).

Returns: Artwork selected to appear in the calendar will be returned to the artists after the calendar is printed in September 2012. Artwork selected for display at various Hoosier Salon exhibitions and galleries around Indiana may be retained through December 2012.
• All other entries will not be returned unless accompanied with full prepaid postage and proper packaging. We will strive to have all requested returns sent by mid-May of 2012.

Deadline: Artwork must be at the Indianapolis office of the Electric Consumer by 3 p.m., Friday, March 23, 2012. Mailing address: P.O. Box 24517, Indianapolis, IN 46224; street address: 720 N. High School Road, Indianapolis, IN 46214.

For more details: Please contact Richard Biever or Emily Schilling at Electric Consumer, 317-487-2220, 800-340-7362, or e-mail us at ec@indremcs.org.