Design this week’s cover of the Reader and win $100

By Ben Olson
Reader Staff

So why exactly is this week’s cover of the Reader blank?

No, we weren’t feeling uninspired; we’re celebrating Pend Oreille Arts Council’s annual ArtWalk next month. Thanks to a recommendation from one of our readers, we thought it would be fun to provide you all with a blank canvas so you can create your own masterpieces.

If you’d like to participate in the ArtWalk cover contest, cut out this week’s cover, paste it to a piece of cardboard (or any hard surface that will allow you to work) and design your own ArtWalk cover. Then, when you’re happy with the final product, turn it into the Reader office or the POAC office no later than June 20.

Then, the Reader staff will join the POAC staff for beers and select our favorites. The first prize will win a $100 gift certificate to MickDuff’s Brewery, and their design will be printed on the Reader cover for the special June 28 ArtWalk issue.

A couple of guidelines to take into consideration:

1. You must keep the READER flag on the top of the page in your design, which we’ve enclosed in a box. Everything else – including the yellow circle and headline teasers – can be painted over, covered up, destroyed and brought back to life. You’re the artist, it’s your world. We can change the font and the background color of the box to match your artwork, but the box must print on your cover.

2. We like bright beautiful colors on our covers, so if you submit a moody black and white image, it will have to really wow our pants off for it to be considered. In other words, dark and moody is definitely a cool style, but doesn’t translate well for a weekly newspaper cover.

3. If you choose to send a photo of your artwork instead of dropping off your artwork, make sure you keep the original work so we can scan it for the cover if you win. Photos taken from your crappy Nokia cell phone will turn out too pixellated for a cover and you’ll end up losing the contest after you already won it.

4. There are two divisions: Youth (age 15 and under) and Adult (ages 16 and up). Please indicate your age when submitting the cover. In fact, if you cut out the little yellow square below this column and paper clip it to the artwork, that’s all the info we need. The $100 prize is for the adults division. The prize for the Youth division is a $25 gift certificate to Creations.

5. The deadline for submissions is June 20. Submissions received after that date will not be considered for the contest. To drop artwork off at the Reader, go to 111 Cedar St. Suite 9 (above Baxter’s). If nobody’s in the office, you can always slip it under the door. We’ll make sure to file it in the correct place. You can also drop your finished artwork at the POAC office in the very back of Cedar St. Bridge. For those who would rather submit their art digitally, take a photo (please use a high-quality camera) and email your submission to [email protected] using the subject line “ARTWALK COVER.” Make sure you fill out the little yellow box at the bottom of this page and include with your artwork.

6. Use any medium you like (paint, colored pencil, digital, etc.) and choose your own subject matter. We love to see your creativity, Sandpoint!

After we select our winner, we’ll display the honoroable mentions inside the Reader office during the ArtWalk opening reception on June 28, so even if you don’t win, you might get the chance to display your work.

Now stop reading this article, cut out that cover, and get to work! We look forward to your submissions.