Christina Leskovar Photography: My Entry for the 5th Annual ArtPrize Competition

Hi friends! Things have been busy these past few months as I have been preparing for this year's ArtPrize! For those of you who may not know about this large event, ArtPrize is an "independently organized international art competition with an unprecedented $200,000 top prize decided entirely by public vote" (ArtPrize.org) and it attracts thousands of artists and spectators each year from states all across the country. Additionally, hundreds of venues around the Grand Rapids, MI area volunteer to host artists at their venue for the competition.

My desire to enter my work in ArtPrize started last year after the 2012 ArtPrize event in Grand Rapids, Michigan. I have always loved seeing and creating art so I knew this would be a perfect event to be a part of. I decided to enter the 2013 ArtPrize as an artist and display some of my nature photography. My move to West Michigan last summer gave me the vision for my entry. Ever since I moved I have been enjoying what it's like to see, feel and experience nature's 4 seasons (something I have never truly experienced before as a Southern girl)! I began brainstorming ideas for how I wanted to create my entry and came to the conclusion that I wanted to display work that reflected this new and exciting time in my life!

Since last year I have been out and about in nature all around West Michigan on many fun adventures trying to capture what I felt were the perfect representations for each season. Every time there were buckets of snowfall outside in the Winter, I wanted to take those opportunities, grab my camera and take off in my car to capture it - even if it meant I would freeze like a popsicle in the process! Photographing in the Winter made me really appreciate the Summer and Fall weather I had photographed in months prior (Fall is still by far my favorite season to photograph)! Spring posed a bit of a challenge this year as it seemed it would never come. Winter took its time leaving us and kept leaving behind traces of snow flurries even into early April. Luckily I was able to capture some amazing shots of the outstanding apple blossoms and some tulips, and the adventures I enjoyed along the way were unforgettable!

In May I finally had all my prints together and ready for ArtPrize. I registered online for the grand event, browsed through the various venues available and made my list of favorites. A week later I requested several venues and then waited another few weeks to hear back. Then in June, I officially secured a venue! I was grateful to have found the great venue that I did, because not every artist is promised a connection with a venue, and without someone to host your work it's not possible to compete in ArtPrize.

My art will be on display at an Italian restaurant in downtown Grand Rapids, Michigan. The restaurant is called Big O' Cafe and their food is amazing! The owner, Bernie, is great and I look forward to working with him more in the upcoming months to wrap up the last details in preparation for ArtPrize. This week the prints I'll have on display are being shipped to me and come 2nd week in September I will be setting up my work all over the walls in the restaurant. Big O' Cafe is located in the heart of downtown Grand Rapids (directly behind the Grand Rapids Art Museum) on Ottawa, making it an ideal location for displaying my work. I'm currently working on a promotional marketing post card that interested viewers can take with them. This post card will have information for how to purchase Wall Art prints directly from my website, along with my contact information, a brief description of my business and examples of my Wall Art photography.

I hope to see you all at ArtPrize this year, and especially at Big O' Cafe!!!

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Links to my Official ArtPrize Profile & Entry + Other Details:

ArtPrize Dates: September 18 - October 6, 2013

My Entry: "Four Season Wonders"