Fair Artwork Contest

Artwork Contest for 2006 Fair

Dear Friends,

Enclosed is an information packet for the 2006 Common Ground Country Fair Poster Contest. Submissions are due in the MOFGA office by 4 p.m. on Friday, August 5, 2005. Late submissions cannot be accepted. This packet contains a contest registration form, guidelines for the contest, and a description of the MOFGA Mission Statement and Common Ground Goals and Objectives to inspire your creation. Please call 568-4142 if you have questions.

The 2005 poster contest winner is Susan Balch. A new flock of baby chicks, two beautiful hens (one of whom was at the Common Ground Country Fair) and a crowing rooster: This year's winning design for the Common Ground poster, T-shirts, tote bags and other products was Susan Balch's second submission to the contest-and her second win, a first in the entire history of the poster contest.

Here's a suggestion to all of you who are considering entering the contest. While we don't want to discourage creativity in any way, we want you to know that the Fair Steering Committee must consider how the artwork will look on a poster, a t-shirt and other Fair promotional material and merchandise. We have had some absolutely beautiful submissions over the years that were not able to consider because they were just too complex and busy. Please keep this in mind, when you are dreaming up your design.

Last year, for the first time ever, we had a submission lost through the mail when returning the submission back to the artist. If you would like us to return your submission by registered mail or have it insured please call the office, there will be an extra charge according to the packaging size and weight, but it is the only way we can be assured of tracking the item.

This year's Fair will take place on September 23, 24, & 25. I hope that you, your friends and family will be able to join us in the big celebration. If you would like a copy of the Fairbook, please let us know by August 5 and we'll send one to you free of charge. After that, Fairbooks will cost $5.00 to mail out; however, they will be free once again at the Fair. Alternatively, you may wish to visit MOFGA's web site for details such as the Fair Schedule of Events, the exhibitor's participant list, and articles about different areas and presentations at the Fair. Right now there is very general information about the Fair on the web, but we hope to have our entire Fairbook posted by the end of July.

Good Luck in creating your poster contest design! Again, the deadline for submissions for the 2006 poster art contest is August 5th, 2005.

Sincerely,

Barbara Luce
Common Ground Country Fair Director

Common Ground Country Fair Artwork Contest Guidelines

Coordinators: Common Ground Country Fair Office, Common Ground Country Fair Steering Committee

Purpose: The purpose of the Poster Contest is to select the image to be used for the Fair poster. The theme of the poster must be in line with the goals and policies of MOFGA and the Common Ground Country Fair.

Guidelines

1. The CGCF limits contest eligibility to residents of the State of Maine and members (including non-Maine residents) of the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association.
2. Artwork submissions must arrive at the MOFGA office by the August deadline indicated on the application.
3. The CGCF limits each artist to two submissions. Entry forms must accompany submissions.
4. The CGCF office has an established type-style and particular information that will appear on the finished poster. The necessary Fair wording and information will be added to the winning artwork.
5. Submissions must be of professional quality, and must be original artwork. Work copied from magazines, artwork by another artist or photos not taken by the artist will not be considered original.
6. Poster size is approximately 18" x 24". The artwork is generally smaller 13.5 X 13.5 or so.
7. The CGCF limits the artwork to 9 (nine) colors.
8. The winning artist will be responsible for hand-separating the final artwork for the silk screening process.
9. The winning artist will be responsible for supplying a black line plate of the artwork used.
10. The winning artist may work with the typesetter to create the final design.
11. The Poster Selection Committee retains the right to approve the final design.
12. The winning artist agrees to be present at the Fair on Sunday afternoon from 1 pm to 5 pm for poster signing.
13. Past images and the year they were presented include: Detailed Promo Poster - 1977, 1978, 1979, Wheat - 1980, Sunflower - 1981, Onions - 1982, Sheep/Pumpkins - 1983, Rooster/Chickens - 1984, Peas - 1985, Apples - 1986, Farm Animals - 1987, Cow - 1988, Carrots - 1989, Pig - 1990, Earth Apple - 1991, Goats - 1992, Beet - 1993, Turkey - 1994, Cucumbers - 1995, Mules - 1996, Vegetable Mosaic - 1997, Honey Bee - 1998, Garlic Braid - 1999, Geese - 2000, Sheep - 2001, Corn - 2002, Tools - 2003, Crow & Tomatoes -- 2004. and Chickens --2005
14. MOFGA will use the selected artwork for: Fair Poster; Fair Brochure Cover; Fair Book Cover; Press Releases; Fair T-Shirts; Other Items As Determined by MOFGA and the CGCF.
15. The CGCF obtains perpetual and exclusive ownership, copyrights and control over the use of the original winning artwork in all forms and formats. The CGCF may reproduce in any fashion, including multimedia and electronic imaging, all or any portion of the artwork, and distribute for profit any reproductions of the artwork.
16. The winning artist will receive: $1,000.00 to be paid after January 1 of the coming year; a press release about selected artwork/artist; a write-up in the Maine Organic Farmer & Gardener newspaper, and the MOFGA newsletter for one year.
17. The Poster Selection Committee will decide on winning artwork before September 1 each year.
18. The Poster Selection Committee may choose to retain other submissions for one year for future consideration with a $100.00 payment to the artist for the option to use the artwork.
19. Artists have three options for getting back their submission(s). Artists may: 1.) send $5.00 for postage and handling to the MOFGA Office, and the CGCF will return the work by mail; or 2.) send $10.00 postage, handling and registered mail; or 3.) come to the office and pick up submissions between September dates indicated on the application. Artists wishing to have their artwork mailed back must provide adequate, reusable packing material so that the artwork can be sent safely. If the artist does not send $5.00 with appropriate packing material, or does not pick up her/his submission(s) by the September deadline, the submission(s) become(s) the property of the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association (MOFGA). MOFGA is located on the on the Crosby Brook Road in Unity. Office hours are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. The mailing address is: MOFGA, PO Box 170, Unity, ME 04988-0170. Phone 207-568-4142.
20. MOFGA will reopen the contest if the Poster Selection Committee decides that a wider range of appropriate submissions is needed.

Common Ground Country Fair Artwork Contest Registration Form

Click Here For Printable Form (PDF, 127 Kb)

Susan Balch Hatches Second Poster Win A new flock of baby chicks, two beautiful hens (one of whom was at the Common Ground Country Fair) and a crowing rooster: This year's winning design for the Common Ground poster, T-shirts, tote bags, cover of the Fairbook issue of The Maine Organic Farmer & Gardener, and other products was Susan Balch's second submission to the contest-and her second win. In 2002, Balch's "Dancing Corn" design, with its gorgeous, natural colors and fruitful but frivolous feel, caught the design judges' attention. This year they loved her poultry scene. The 2005 design had been incubating in Balch's mind since 2001, when "the idea had already hatched to do a chicken design." Her friend, the late Ted Williams, had kept chickens for years, giving them such plucky names as "Loco Weed" and "Jacob with His Coat of Many Colors." Balch was inspired by their various personalities when she visited Williams. She tried to transform her idea into art, but kept discarding the attempts…until last year, when "I finally decided how I would do it." The linoneum cut design, handpainted with watercolor on rice paper, came out "just beautiful." The hen on the right is one that Balch saw at the 2002 Common Ground Fair, and the other is from a book called Living with Chickens: Everything You Need to Know to Raise Your Own Backyard Flock, by Jay Rossier and Geoff Hansen (photographer). "I bought [the book] because of the pictures of chickens [in it]. After I bought and read it, I lent it to people. It's a wonderful, delightful book, if anybody ever wanted to raise chickens." Models for the flock of little chicks came from that book and USDA pamphlets. The rooster was inspired by a small photo accompanying an article about the way roosters crow to attract hens, and the hens just don't care. "That is not what does it for the hens," says Balch with a laugh, recalling the article. "I just thought that was a funny article, and it had a beautiful picture of a rooster." Once her work was done, Balch "thought I had a chance to win. I knew [the design] would look good on a poster." A true back-to-the-lander, Balch came from Maryland to Swanville, Maine, in 1971 after answering an ad in a newspaper to help someone build a house--despite the fact that she had no house building experience. After that job, she built the initial part of her own home, with free labor from friends, for $3,000 in the late '70s. She added an art studio and a "real bathroom" later, after "many years with nothing but an indoor hand pump." Art was part of her life all this time. She did wood and linoleum block prints that she then hand painted with watercolors--a very labor-intensive process that never enabled her to earn her entire living through art, and a time-consuming process that she felt was throwing her life out of balance, not leaving time for friends and gardening. So, about 10 years ago, she started working at Liberty Graphics and has been there ever since. "I enjoy going to work," she says. She is the only hand color-separator there (one other person separates colors on a computer), where she breaks down pictures into 10 or fewer colors so that the colors can be printed on top of each other. "It's like undoing a painting," she comments, adding that the work suits her perfectly. "Most printing these days is four-color process printing. It doesn't have the fine quality look that using 10 colors and fine detail separation, getting all the gradations in color, does." She has also designed T-shirts for Liberty Graphics. Common Ground fairgoers and MOF&G readers may recall her "Starting from Seed" and "Healing Herbs" designs, which have been featured on the back page of The MOF&G in Liberty Graphics' ads. When she isn't doing art on paper or fabric, Balch is designing in her small flower and vegetable garden. "It's like a French country garden," she says, with flowers interplanted among vegetables. "It's a work of art. Well, I try. It's an artistic endeavor." You can meet Susan Balch during the Common Ground Country Fair at the Country Store on Sunday, Sept. 25, from 1 to 3 p.m., when she'll be signing posters. --Jean English ©2005. For information about reproducing this article, please contact the author.

This Year's Poster For Sale

Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association (MOFGA)
Common Ground Country Fair
PO Box 170
Unity, ME 04988
Phone: 207-568-4142
Fax: 207-568-4141
Email: cgcf@mofga.org