It's a CONTEST! Getting Back To Basics Here! Let Loose the Child-Like Artist Within and Play Along!!

Okay, Peeps!  It's time for some good ol' creative fun!  The kid kind. It's ART Time at Runninghood and I really want YOU to play along! Please. This will be way more fun than my self-defining reflective exercise post from yesterday.  Way easier too! This is a contest but a fun one.  It is about putting your child-like mind on and letting your guard down in hopes of creating some fun, funny, and interesting art. Kid Style!


Who doesn't know how to draw a stick figure?  Or play with clay?  Color?  Finger paint?  Play in the mud even? Maybe create a good ol' diorama?  Use Crayola markers or water colors?  All of these things are a pretty basic part of childhood for so many of us. And let's admit it, we definitely lose so much of that child-like creativity and inhibitions as we grow into adults.  When was the last time you let your creative side go free?  When was the last time you sat down and colored or played with play dough?  Without feeling like someone was expecting you to create something "adult like"?  Without feeling those feelings of "I can't draw" or "I'm not good at art" or "my picture will be stupid"?  When we were kids, we usually just "went to town" on our creations and didn't worry about whether our art met some invisible standard of what art should be.  We had fun with art and most of us believed that we were ARTISTS! But at some point, in our growing up, so many of us have lost these unguarded feelings and we've ended up making everything more serious than it needs to be.  We end up losing our ARTIST within. 


One of my big goals these days is to keep things simple and get in touch with the more basic sides of life.  As I get older and life gets busier, living seems to get more and more complicated. But it doesn't have to be that way!  That is one of the things I love about running.  It is simple but yet so fulfilling and rewarding.  It is so natural and it is something so many of us can do...on our own level and without having to compare ourselves to those around us. This concept of "living simple" and "getting back to basics"  is what inspired artist Cher Odum to create these Sticklete images that some of you already know about:

So please join me in getting back to basics with art!  Take off that serious hat that you may more may not be wearing and put on your child-like ARTIST art and let's do some creating here!  


How This Contest Works:
Since this is a blog mostly about Running and Motherhood, I'm going to make that the focus here.  And I'm going to make it easy.  Basically, I want you, you, you and YOU to take out your crayons, cardboard boxes, scissors, pencils, clay, mud...whatever you have to create with (keep it as simple as you want.  Pencil and paper is fine!!).  To participate in this contest you will be able to choose how you want to create.  Here are some ideas:

• pencil and paper sketch (stick figures are preferred)
• comic strip
• diorama (this could be funny!)
• clay or play dough
• window art
• painting
• one of those flip books that you can do with post-it notes...you know, the kind where you draw a stick figure on each edge in the same place and when you flip, it will look like it is moving?  
• a Rock Scene for those of you that remember my rock art.  

WHAT are you creating, you ask??  You have 3 options to choose from:

1. If you are a runner and a blogger then you know who SUAR is.  Who doesn't?  And if you are a runner and not familiar with blogs, you really should go check out SUAR's blog.  SUAR = Shut Up And Run.  Google it if you are curious and not familiar with the blog world.  As most of you know, SUAR's blog is never dull.  Anything but.  Shocking at times, funny, raunchy maybe, inspiring, etc.  She's quite the character and so she makes a great candidate for this art project.  Your job is to create a piece of art (picture, sculpture, comic strip, diorama, etc) that represents Beth from SUAR.  Maybe it is a scene from a story she has told...pooping, farting, wearing her green bikini or one of the many many images you might have in your head.  She's told some great stories so even if you don't know of SUAR's blog, it would be easy to go to, read for a few minutes and come away with an awesome idea for this creation. 
2. More Running or Athletic Art! Create a piece of art that inspires you to run, dance, or do what you do. A piece that reminds you of a story from your life as a runner/athlete. Maybe art that represents a race you are proud of or where something crazy happened, etc. Or a collage that helps you focus. 
3. Mothers!  MOthers who prefer to do some motherhood art instead of running...this one is for you.  What mother out there doesn't have a funny, crazy, or endearing image or scene in their heads when they think of a day in the life of raising kids? Or who doesn't have a memory of their own mother? I'm sure you could come up with a piece of art that shows something we can all relate to...kids tearing up the house, fighting, the exasperated mother, torn up houses, kids saying really embarrassing things in front of our friends or people we want to impress (this would make a good comic strip or diorama), spills, etc.  Oh, and there are the good things too.  You know, the hugs, cuddles, family vacations, and all the more peaceful moments of motherhood.  

RULES/Details:  

1. BE CREATIVE and KEEP IT SIMPLE if you don't have too much time...sometimes simple is better anyway...this doesn't have to be hard but it should be FUN!! 
2. CREATE your art using any media you want.  
3. Take a picture of what you come up with and send it to me.  Or even better yet, post your creation on your blog and encourage others to enter and get creative too!
4. I will choose the top 10 best creations and post and link (if you have a blog) them on my blog for everyone to vote for a winner.  I'll include 5 of the my favorite running art and 5 of my favorite motherhood art for you to vote on.  There will be a winner in each category. 
5. I'll keep this open until September 27th.  That gives you some time to create!  

WHAT DO YOU WIN? 

Really, this contest is about fun and letting your creative spirit free!  By tapping into that "child-like" artist that is within all of us, you will be opening up some parts of your mind that you might not have opened for awhile.  This is WINNING alone.  

But for a tangible prize...

The two winners will be getting some professional art done just for you! Personalized Professional Art! The winners will have the opportunity to special order a piece of Sticklete art to be created just for you, a friend, a family member, etc.  You'll be able to say what you want your Sticklete art to look like and you will be given a JPEG picture of your art and the rights to use it for whatever you choose:

• cell phone covers
• bumper stickers or advertisement for your blog, company, etc.
• greeting card
• art for your wall

In addition to having the rights to the photo, you will also have the option of purchasing the original art piece if you so wished.  

For those of you that don't know about the Sticklete art, here is some info:

Artist:  Cher Odum

About her Art:  You can view her art on her Fine Art America Site as linked with her name or on her Finding Art in Every Day blog.  Her Sticklete line is very different from her other art.  It was a line she started for me when I asked her to create some art for runners.  It has evolved from there.  

Where Can You Find Her?  In addition to viewing her art on Fine Art America, a lot of Cher's original works are in galleries here in Oregon.  One of the galleries she has her art in is Dragonfire Gallery in Cannon Beach, Oregon.  

Here are just a few of my favorite pieces of Sticklete art.  A few of these were done just for specific friends or bloggers.  These pics might give you an idea of what you would want created just for you and how you'd use your art image. The winners will be able to come up with a request for something as simple or colorful as they want. Lots of ways to personalize the Sticklete art! 

Note about the Following Images: All work in this gallery is the original work of Cher Odum, and may not be used without permission. Copyrighted to Cher Odum and, as such, is protected by US and International Copyright Laws.

This was what she came up with for my Runninghood Sticker.

A simple and basic 

Specially made for: Barefoot Angie Bee

One of my FAVS!

Made just for Jenn from Running Sane

This one went to Sarah Bowen Shea, co-author of Run Like a Mother.  She's the one who gave me the idea for using these images for a phone cover!

So, what are you waiting for?!  Get those crayons or pencils out.  Glue. Paste. Water Colors.  You name it.  Create!  Oh, I do hope you play along! And share on your blogs so we can all see what you come up with!  I can't wait to see all of your creations and hear your reflections on the process of letting your "artist" free! 

Happy Creating,

Amanda