Posts from the ‘weekly contest’ Category

7/16 Weekly creativity contest winner & new prompt

Last week’s prompt — “My mother’s house” — was tough, but I’m so glad we used it, because otherwise I never would have read or seen the memorable work that came in, including Kelly Warren‘s stunningly beautiful submission. She literally gave me goosebumps and moved me to tears. Kelly is this week’s winner — congratulations, Kelly! Your $10 amazon.com gift certificate is en route. Simply due to its length, Kelly’s piece appears last, after the jump. New prompt is after the jump too — a comparatively accessible theme that hopefully translates to visual artists and jewelry designers, too, at least in colors 🙂

Cathy Coley writes: “My mother’s house included my father’s gardens, and his love of that was indelibly passed to me. My main creative endeavor may be writing, but the first I took seriously was photography, and some of those first photos were of his garden. These are of my gardens. I’m a bit rusty and haven’t really gotten into playing around with digital photos yet. I do miss a dark room.”

From Cathy Jennings:

i sit in my mother’s house.
i am small
eating beef stroganoff or spaghetti or fried eggs.
she smells nice.
she knits me hats and sweaters.
she sews me dresses.
she gives me paint and paper.
did she know where this would lead?

i sit in a different house.
i am grown.
i miss the beef stroganoff but i can make the spaghetti and fried eggs.
sometimes my son smells nice.
i am learning how to knit so i can make him hats and socks and sweaters.
i give him paint, paper and clay.

my son helps me reach back to her house
while standing in my own.
loving my son shows me how much i was loved.
does he know where this will lead?

From me (Miranda): I started with a haiku, but immediately realized that the concise format was just too spare for what I wanted to write. So I moved to an old favorite, the ultra-challenging (for me) Spenserian Sonnet. I love the riddle of syllable count, a specific rhyming order, and iambic pentameter.  It’s kind of like a really hard crossword puzzle!

My Mother’s House
The pitted, dusty road that curves uphill
runs past the fallen beaver dam and pond
to where a sandy driveway follows still
and opens to my mother’s house beyond.

Red clapboards show behind each ferny frond
where gangly pines cast shade and dappled light;
indoors a barking poodle dog in blond
protects his mistress dear with ready bite.

For her, a life of solitude is right
and long defines the company she keeps
the dog and art and blooms are heart’s delight;
a multitude of cats in hairy heaps.

The house is strong, but not as strong as she,
who shares her heart and self and days with me.

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7/9 Weekly creativity contest winner & new prompt

A quiet week for the prompt “Independence Day.” Cathy Coley and I were obviously in very similar places during the holiday weekend! Cathy’s haiku:

Independence Day
for thirty minutes
grocery store run by myself
first time in a year

And mine:

Fourth of July
A flash of milky
independence found in my
baby’s first bottle

And since I couldn’t attend any fireworks this year, I created some of my own (above) using Photoshop.

By default — no slight to her creative talents! — Cathy wins the contest this week. Cathy, your $10 amazon.com gift certificate is on its way!

This week’s prompt: “My mother’s house”

Use the prompt however you like. All media are welcome. Visual artists and artisans are encouraged to think laterally (perhaps your mother’s house was filled with gardenias and you’re inspired to create a gardenia pendant). Please e-mail your entries to creativereality@live.com by 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday, July 15. The winning entry receives a $10 gift certificate to amazon.com. Writers should include their submission directly in the body text of their e-mail. Visual artists and photographers should attach an image of their work as a jpeg. Enter as often as you like; multiple submissions for a single prompt are welcome. There is no limit to how many times you can win the weekly contest, either. (You do not have to be a contributor to this blog in order to enter. All are invited to participate.) Remember, the point here is to stimulate your output, not to create a masterpiece. Keep the bar low and see what happens. Dusting off work you created previously is OK too. For more info, read the original contest blog post.

7/2 Weekly creativity contest winner & new prompt

A great response to last week’s prompt, “wings.” I knew I’d never be able to pick a winner, so I called on guest judge Susan Edwards Richmond, poet and a founding editor of Wild Apples. While it was difficult, Susan settled on a favorite. “I selected Sarah Markley‘s writing because her descriptions are vivid and fresh, and she allows the moment to draw her in….She truly engaged herself with the topic and with her own words, and so engaged me as well.” Congratulations, Sarah! Your $10 amazon.com gift certificate is on its way. (Readers: Don’t miss Sarah’s beautifully honest blog.) Sarah’s entry below; all the other goodies are posted after the jump.

Butterflies and Dust
A little girl never outgrows her fascination with butterflies; the pull in her heart to run after them; the secret curiosity of what it would be like to be one. Even this little girl.

Spring comes early and short where I live. The winter warms up just enough to allow the hills to explode with yellow and lavender flowers, and then just as quickly, continues to heat and sucks most of the colored beauty from the hills. The blooms dry up before May even comes and we are left with tall brown stalks of what used to be wildflowers.

This is what I slowly picked my way through on a much needed mid-morning trail jog near my house. On a Monday, I ran by myself out of doors for the first time in about 10 days. Recovering from my weekend out of town last week had left me unmotivated and exhausted. I had to push myself out my front door and force myself to lace up my running shoes.

What greeted me was a corridor of dirty, hollow brown bushes that used to be green and yellow and fresh. They were dead now and waiting for the autumn wildfires.

Some spring birds with a little color on their chests fluttered to my right and in the bushes ahead. A dragonfly-like insect buzzed by me — large with a bright orange abdomen.

A little bit of color in the drab hallway of dead stalks. Life wasn’t gone from this hill; it was just hidden.

And as if she hasn’t yet sensed me running toward her, a small butterfly lands on the path in front of me and spreads her little wings wide. Brilliant yellow and black and orange like the spring flowers that have already died. She is a vibrant fragile dot on the rocky trail.

The vibrations from my feet on the ground scare her and she closes her wings tight. The underside of her wings are brown and grey, just like the dirt she is resting on. She is almost invisible for an instant and then she flies away. Fluttering bright and drab together, she disappears.

I’ve seen this tiny butterfly against a curtain of dusty brown and then against the grand, morning sky and I feel a little like this insignificant animal: one minute dazzling and brilliant and the next invisible and scared. No more little girl curiosity because suddenly I am a tiny insect, feeling the full weight of radiance and fear at the same time.

As a woman, a mother, I know my worth, that I have brilliance and beauty. I can see it in my children; I can witness it in the words I write. But more often, I just see dusty wings. The grime and the hurt and the fear of life cloud my vision of myself.

This morning I realized that beauty is often shrouded in drab clothes, and that brilliance and invisibility can exist together. And even I am a butterfly of sorts, beautiful and dusty at the same time.

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6/25 Weekly creativity contest winner & new prompt

Our prompt for last week was “at 3:00 a.m.” Our winner is Bec Thomas, who sent in three spectacular photos. Check out more of Bec’s work at her blog and website. Bec’s winning trio, for which she receives a $10 amazon.com gift certificate, are 1) Lunar Eclipse 2) Moon and Venus 3) Eclipse of the Moon:

We have a poem from Cathy Coley, too, who is clearly moving toward a creative bender. Go, Cathy!

At 3 am

I bet you thought
something precious like
kicks of tiny feet
and baby nuzzling
woke me
for a late night feeding
in the still dark room.

well, that, too, but
the thunderstorm’s music
was more melodic
than wagner,
more booming than peer gynt.
and the rain, the rain’s
thousand little notes upon the house
more welcome than Mozart.

Lastly, my haiku:

At 3:00 a.m.

In darkness, each small
sound gains unwanted meaning
and my mind runs loose

This week’s prompt: “Wings”

Use the prompt however you like. All media are welcome. Please e-mail your entries to creativereality@live.com by midnight on Tuesday, July 1. The winning entry receives a $10 gift certificate to amazon.com. Writers should include their submission directly in the body text of their e-mail. Visual artists and photographers should attach an image of their work as a jpeg. Enter as often as you like; multiple submissions for a single prompt are welcome. There is no limit to how many times you can win the weekly contest, either. (You do not have to be a contributor to this blog in order to enter. All are invited to participate.) Remember, the point here is to stimulate your output, not to create a masterpiece. Keep the bar low and see what happens. Dusting off work you created previously is OK too. For more info, read the original contest blog post.

6/18 Weekly creativity contest winner & new prompt

Last week’s prompt was “margaritas.” It was great to receive submissions from two newcomers to Creative Construction, as well as another poem from Cathy Coley, who won previously for “the ocean” prompt.

For now, while we only have a handful of submissions each week, I’ve decided to post everything in addition to the winner. It’s just so much fun to see what everyone does with the prompt. I’ll also continue to throw in my own haiku.

Our winner is Cathy Jennings, who sent in this magical digital drawing. I can just taste the party, can’t you? Cathy receives a $10 amazon.com gift certificate.

We also received this smile-inducing image from Camie Schneider. Clearly Camie has learned a few things about blending children into adult fun.

Cathy Coley‘s poem:

Margaritas

Margaritas taste
of summer 9 pm sunsets,
laughter, saltiness
and raw oyster bars.

Margaritas taste
of girls’ night out
before the dance club,
ex-boyfriend dishing
and tales of that one night,
which started with a margarita!

Margaritas taste of
flirting with the bartender
to get another on the house
while flashing
my wedding rings
thoroughly–
and still
getting one on the house
with a Scottish accent
and a wink.

It’s been a while since
I tasted a margarita.

I could go in the kitchen
dust off the triple sec
and the tequila bottles,
pour salt on the counter
and taste one now.
summer is coming.
Ha-ha-ha!

And here’s my haiku:

Margaritas
In Mexico we
drank deeply of each other
and found our future

After all this, I am seriously craving a margarita and some killer Mexican food! Sigh…Nice work, everyone. I hope we pick up a few new participants for our next round, too.

This week’s prompt: “At 3:00 a.m.”
Use the prompt however you like. All media are welcome. Please e-mail your entries to creativereality@live.com by midnight on Tuesday, June 24. The winning entry receives a $10 gift certificate to amazon.com. Writers should include their submission directly in the body text of their e-mail. Visual artists and photographers should attach an image of their work as a jpeg. Enter as often as you like; multiple submissions for a single prompt are welcome. There is no limit to how many times you can win the weekly contest, either. (You do not have to be a contributor to this blog in order to enter. All are invited to participate.) Remember, the point here is to stimulate your output, not to create a masterpiece. Keep the bar low and see what happens. For more info, read the original contest blog post.

6/11 Weekly creativity contest winner & new prompt

This week, there was a clear winner for the prompt “the crows.” I’m sure you’ll agree that this entry is highly creative. It is also true that the winning entry was the only entry, so Juliet wins (her second win) by default, even though her entry is inherently a winner anyway. But of course, Juliet wins another $10 amazon.com gift certificate.

So, guys, those of you who are holding out–enter the contest! You might very well win. Don’t worry about creating your masterpiece, just create something.

Juliet Bell‘s submission is a 4” x 4” wooden shadow box entitled “A Murder by Moonlight.” (Some of Juliet’s other work is listed at Etsy and eBay.)

Thanks for entering again, juliet!

In an attempt to lower the bar, which might be intimidatingly high based on the work above, I share my haiku on this theme, written in five minutes this morning. If I can expose my own unpolished work, so can you!

The Crows

Insistent, a pair
of glossy crows dines quickly
at the hot roadside

This week’s prompt: “Margaritas.”
Use the prompt however you like. All media are welcome. Please e-mail your entries to creativereality@live.com by midnight on Tuesday, June 17. The winning entry receives a $10 gift certificate to amazon.com. Writers should include their submission directly in the body text of their e-mail. Visual artists and photographers should attach an image of their work as a jpeg. Enter as often as you like; multiple submissions for a single prompt are welcome. There is no limit to how many times you can win the weekly contest, either. (You do not have to be a contributor to this blog in order to enter. All are invited to participate.) Remember, the point here is to stimulate your output, not to create a masterpiece. Keep the bar low and see what happens. For more info, read the original contest blog post.

6/4 Weekly creativity contest winners & new prompt

For last week’s prompt, “the ocean,” there was no way to pick a winner between two outstanding submissions: a poem and a painting. Picking a winner was a foray into the proverbial apples and oranges. So, they both win. Why not? I’m allowed to make up the rules, after all 🙂

The painting was submitted by Penny Boyd of Poppy Jane (where you can read about Penny’s submission). The painting is gouache, watercolor, and ink on wood. Penny says the piece is “still in its rough, early stages.” Well then–we can’t wait to see the final.
 

 
And a beautiful poem by regular Creative Construction commenter, writer Cathy Ann Coley, appearing here accompanied by a photograph by the author:
 

i could write an ocean on the ocean

the ocean is my solace
i grew up in a beach town
she is coming home for me

feel her salt drying on my skin in the sun
smell her in the breeze tangling my hair
waist deep
hips pulled in her rocking motion
mother my comfort

my boys play in the surf
tumble ass over tea kettle
and come up grinning
now we live near a big wave beach
just like me
can’t keep them from the water

my daughter, just born from my salinity,
will return to hers, the one who rocks the earth
and all of us
in her constant tidal embrace
shhh-shhh upon the shoreline
rock me to pleasant sleep

Nice work! Thanks to both of you. Your $10 amazon.com gift certificates are on the way.

Just to show how low the bar can really go, after the jump I add the haiku I wrote for this prompt–written in my head during the course of about 10 minutes. If that’s all the creativity you can manage right now, then that’s plenty. Just keep the embers alive.

This week’s prompt: “The crow.”
Use the prompt however you like. All media are welcome. Please e-mail your entries to creativereality@live.com by midnight on Tuesday, June 10. The winning entry receives a $10 gift certificate to amazon.com. Writers should include their submission directly in the body text of their e-mail. Visual artists and photographers should attach an image of their work as a jpeg. Enter as often as you like; multiple submissions for a single prompt are welcome. There is no limit to how many times you can win the weekly contest, either. (You do not have to be a contributor to this blog in order to enter. All are invited to participate.) Remember, the point here is to stimulate your output, not to create a masterpiece. Keep the bar low and see what happens. For more info, read the original contest blog post.
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5/28 Weekly creativity contest winner & new prompt

The winning entry for last week’s prompt, “the last time you kissed me,” is a poem submitted by Brittany Vandeputte:
 

 

 

 

Thank you, Brittany. Your $10 amazon.com gift certificate is on its way.

This week’s prompt: “The ocean.”
Use the prompt however you like. All media are welcome. Please e-mail your entries to creativereality@live.com by midnight on Tuesday, June 3. The winning entry receives a $10 gift certificate to amazon.com. Writers should include their submission directly in the body text of their e-mail. Visual artists and photographers should attach an image of their work as a jpeg. Enter as often as you like; multiple submissions for a single prompt are welcome. There is no limit to how many times you can win the weekly contest, either. (You do not have to be a contributor to this blog in order to enter. All are invited to participate.) Remember, the point here is to stimulate your output, not to create a masterpiece. Keep the bar low and see what happens. For more info, read the original contest blog post.

5/21 Weekly creativity contest winners & new prompt

Well, this week there was positively no way to chose a winner between two beautiful and highly original pieces of art submitted for the prompt “little black dress.” Instead, they both win (and each will receive a $10 amazon gift certificate). I wouldn’t say that either of these pieces of art are good examples of “keeping the bar low,” but hopefully they won’t intimidate the rest of us! I’m also posting two text entries from Creative Construction commenters–a poem from Cathy Ann Coley and a humorous prose piece from Jenn that we can probably ALL relate to–see those two pieces after the jump. The winners:

From artist Dale Meister, a mixed media piece on watercolor paper (read about Dale’s creative process for this entry at her personal blog):

Nice work, Dale! The second winner is puzzle-maker Juliet Bell, who submitted an extremely intricate, hand-cut wooden puzzle containing three figurals and measuring approximately 14” tall by 4.5” (some of her work is listed at eBay):

This week’s prompt: “The last time you kissed me.”
Use the prompt however you like. All media are welcome. Please e-mail your entries to creativereality@live.com by midnight on Tuesday, May 27. The winning entry receives a $10 gift certificate to amazon.com. Writers should include their submission directly in the body text of their e-mail. Visual artists and photographers should attach an image of their work as a jpeg. Enter as often as you like; multiple submissions for a single prompt are welcome. There is no limit to how many times you can win the weekly contest, either. (You do not have to be a contributor to this blog in order to enter. All are invited to participate.) Remember, the point here is to stimulate your output, not to create a masterpiece. Keep the bar low and see what happens. For more info, read the original contest blog post.

Two text entries for “little black dress”: Read more

5/14 Weekly creativity contest winner & new prompt

The winning entry for last week’s prompt, “a cup of coffee,” is a digital image submitted by Karen Poneris:

Congratulations, Karen! Your $10 amazon.com gift certificate will be arriving shortly.

Contest update: The number of submissions has been lower than I’d hoped for–if you’re holding out for some reason, please lower the bar and participate–especially all you regular Creative Construction bloggers! Set the timer for 15 minutes and see what you can come up with.

I fielded a question from someone about the legitimacy of entering work that was created previously but happens to fit a given prompt. If you have something in your portfolio or filing cabinet that works for the contest prompt, by all means send it in. Simply the process of reviewing something you already created, thinking about it, perhaps tweaking it as needed–that’s all part of the creative process, so it’s legit.

This week’s prompt: “Little black dress.”
Use the prompt however you like. All media are welcome. Please e-mail your entries to creativereality@live.com by midnight on Tuesday, May 20. The winning entry receives a $10 gift certificate to amazon.com. Writers should include their submission directly in the body text of their e-mail. Visual artists and photographers should attach an image of their work as a jpeg. Enter as often as you like; multiple submissions for a single prompt are welcome. There is no limit to how many times you can win the weekly contest, either. (You do not have to be a contributor to this blog in order to enter. All are invited to participate.) Remember, the point here is to stimulate your output, not to create a masterpiece. Keep the bar low and see what happens. For more info, read the original contest blog post.

5/7 Weekly creativity contest winner & new prompt

The winning entry for last week’s prompt, “view from the window,” is an untitled poem submitted by Elizabeth Campbell:

I come late
to nature

I am not

a climber of mountains
a spelunker of caves
a diver of oceans

except within these walls,
where I weave webs that
keep me close to home

watching through windows
with wanting
the wind, the dark, the leaves
familiar and foreign, alive.

Congratulations, Elizabeth! Your $10 amazon.com gift certificate will be arriving shortly. Don’t spend it all at once! 🙂

This week, I am also posting two other entries (both short prose pieces), one from a regular blog contributor (Jenn), and one from an occasional commenter (Juliet Bell). Click on “continue reading” below to read those entries.

This week’s prompt: “A cup of coffee.”
Use the prompt however you like. All media are welcome. Please e-mail your entries to creativereality@live.com by midnight on Tuesday, May 13. The winning entry receives a $10 gift certificate to amazon.com. Writers should include their submission directly in the body text of their e-mail. Visual artists and photographers should attach an image of their work as a jpeg. Enter as often as you like; multiple submissions for a single prompt are welcome. There is no limit to how many times you can win the weekly contest, either. (You do not have to be a contributor to this blog in order to enter. All are invited to participate.) Remember, the point here is to stimulate your output, not to create a masterpiece. Keep the bar low and see what happens. For more info, read the original contest blog post.

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