Here are the winners for Contest #6!
The Challenge: Create a piece of art OR writing on the theme of "Gratitude".
Be sure not to miss your chance to enter Contest #7 - holiday tree ornaments! The deadline for Contest #7 is Monday, December 3, at 6pm Eastern. Click here to read about Contest #7
FIRST PLACE
"In All Things Give Thanks" by Nina Newton
Altered Book, vintage papers, photos, ribbons, beads, buttons, glitter and other ephemera, 5" x 8"
Click the image to see the entry in full size.
View 1:
View 2:
View 3:
View 4:
SECOND PLACE
"Gratitude Tree" by Linda Manzo
Water color and micron pen, 8-1/2" x 11"
Click the image to see the entry in full size.
TIED FOR THIRD PLACE:
"Angel of Gratitude" by Gretchen Little
Digital collage (I used one "Arcane Circle" Photoshop brush from http://www.obsidiandawn.com)
Click the image to see the entry in full size.
TIED FOR THIRD PLACE:
Many Colors of Gratitude" by Barb Starrenburg
Altered Art Doll: Pencil Crayons, Beads, Feathers, Ribbon, Plastic Bottle Cap (Hat), Embellishments, 12" x 3"
Click the image to see the entry in full size.
AND HERE ARE THE REST OF THE WONDERFUL ENTRANTS:
"Maple Musing"
by
Lori Minick
Maple leaves, ribbon, paper, digitally enhanced with text and border
Click the image to see the entry in full size.
"Gratitude Has a Face"
by Janelle Ortiz-Scolaro
Paper and embellishments, 5" x 7"
Click the image to see the entry in full size.
"Gratitude in DEEDS"
by Annette Phillips
Electronic media
Click the image to see the entry in full size.
"Living in Gratitude" by Annette Phillips
Electronic media
Click the image to see the entry in full size.
"Expressing Gratitude" by Annette Phillips
Electronic media
Click the image to see the entry in full size.
"In Gratitude" by Barbara Fahrenbach
A Prose Poem
In Gratitude
My world is a wonderful place to live and I am filled with gratitude for my life.
I am grateful for the vast magical, mysterious landscape out there
And for remarkable eye treasures I behold every day.
There are the spectacular gifts that are hard to ignore – sunrises, sunsets, the deep canopy of stars, the magnificence of our universe.
But let me also be grateful for the everyday magic.
For industrious ants carrying crumbs of bread twice their size to their hills
And drops of dew on the prairie flowers at daybreak
And little kids with grubby hands and faces and ice cream drips on their shirts
And the colors that stained glass windows leave on church pews
And paper, pen and camera with which I mark my identity and make meaning in my life
And the books lining the shelves of the libraries that I am free to read
And even the cup of tea that delights my senses of taste and smell every morning.
Remind me to give gratitude for water that’s clean and comes out of a spigot instead of a muddy river downstream from an industrial complex,
And for homes made of wood or brick or stone instead of corrugated cardboard or even a bit of a stoop on a dark street.
And for gardens and grocery stores which are filled with food enough to feed my family.
Let me be grateful for the gifts I have, for that which most of the world cannot even fathom owning or even receiving.
Let me express my gratitude by respecting every living thing and human being.
Let me give thanks for the people who inspire and those who share their talents with the world, for those who work for peace and justice.
Most of us give thanks for our blessings on Thanksgiving Day when we are reminded by media and family obligations – and that is good, that is a beginning.
Many of us give thanks when we visit places of worship every week.
Some of us give thanks as we write in gratitude journals once a day.
But gratitude is a gift that I can give continuously:
A smile to a passer-by;
a pat on the back of the neighbor boy for a job well done or simply for no reason at all;
a compliment to an employee or to my child’s teacher.
Let me become aware; let me give the gifts of recognition or appreciation or respect to everyone I meet.
It is easy to give thanks for my family and those who are dear to me, to give thanks for the material things in my life and for the extras in my life.
But let me also give thanks for the gifts that make each human being a unique individual. Let me give thanks for my acquaintances, neighbors and strangers; for those people different from me and for those people I do not understand; for those people I criticize or look down upon or even hate.
All are unique individuals.
All are worthy of love and of life.
We are all are a part of each other.
Let me be grateful; let me bow my head in gratitude for all.
***
Quoting the words of a very wise man, Meister Eckhart ~
"If the only prayer you said in your whole life was 'thank you', that would suffice."
"Give Thanks" by Laura Bray
Acrylic painting, 5" x 7"
Click the image to see the entry in full size.
ENTRY I
"THANKSGIVING" by Carol Henley
Acrostic Poem
Thirty people!
Hungry souls!
Aunt Sophie? Uncle Paul?
Ninety hot rolls - fifteen full bowls
Kills the hungrys and
Salves the foiles.
Gravy's gone!
Instant moans.
Veritable mayhem
In our home!
Nice to have you
Grateful you're gone.
"Blessings Carved in Stone" by Tara Douglas-Smith
Digitally altered photograph
"I was thinking about how the things I am grateful for are always changing, just because of how life changes. But there are a handful of things that are constant...'blessings carved in stone'. I applied digital text effects to this photograph to illustrate this."
Click the image to see the entry in full size.
"Art Lights the Fire Inside" by Carol Henley
Multi-media collage, 5" x 7"
Click the image to see the entry in full size.
"A Lone Survivor" by Carol Henley
Mixed media ATC, 2-1/2" x 3-1/2"
"Based on boob art from Chris Dunmore's creativity site: Being a breast cancerr survivor, I am so grateful to have survived and I wanted to create something to convey that.
Click the image to see the entry in full size.
"My Heart Soars" by Mary Franowsky
Mixed media on canvas panel, acrylic paint, wings (from paperrelics.com clear embossed and glued raised, painted girl image with watercolor and added to canvas, embellished with ribbons and a sprinkling of seed beads.
"The concept of 'Gratitude' is so huge that I had to make a heart with wings. I just had to add the sparkly and colorful seed beads and ribbons to further express the beauty of Gratitude. I wanted 'sparkle'."
Click the image to see the entry in full size.
"Gratitude for the Abundance of Our Lives" by Lynn Bartle
Mixed media -- Stickers, Paint, Tissue Paper, Fiber, Beads, Gold Pen, Glaze, Glitter, Stamping, Fabric, 10" x 8-1'2", fiber hangs for an additional 12"
Click the image to see the entry in full size.
"Gratitude is Being Alive" by Honeyleen Digo
8" x 10"
Click the image to see the entry in full size.
"Gratitude Is . . ." by Barbara Miller
Digitally enhanced photograph
Click the image to see the entry in full size.
Thanks to all who voted!