Great artists are often misunderstood, and they tend to die unappreciated. Vincent van Gogh sold only one painting during his short life, and composer Franz Schubert lived to see only one of his works performed in public. The worlds that surrounded these artists were confused, frightened by the feelings this monumental art produced. Well then, you must all be some colossal geniuses because the majority of the entries to this year’s Valentine’s Day Card Contest stymied us, perplexed us and plain freaked us out. I sincerely worry about the mental health of our community. But weird is often good, and there was just enough clever oddballness to keep the loonies from hijacking this train and taking it to Crazyville Hills (a subdivision just outside of Batshit City).Congrats to the winners, and thanks to all who sent in their cards. We really do appreciate it; and so will our moms, who will no doubt be the lucky recipients of your insanity. Thanks also to the panel of judges, including Spiros Antonopoulos, Nick Brown, Jessica Cassyle Carr, Marisa Demarco, Jeff Drew, Adam Fox, Molly Lindsay, Laura Marrich and Jesse Schulz. Sometimes, it takes a village to determine which valentine of a reclining kitty cat is superior (yes, there were several).
First Place
Mostly, our panel is impressed by guns, so this squirty, interactive missive hit the bull’s-eye.
First Place Prizes
• Two lift tickets to Taos Ski Valley• $25 gift certificate to Light & Healthy Mirai Express• Two passes to Guild Cinema
Second Place
The debate over this one was contentious, with some judges loving the darkness of it and others favoring a valentine with less bloodshed. The 3-D detail ended up trumping other homicidal 2-D entries.
Second Place Prizes
• $20 gift certificate to J.J.’s Pizza• $20 gift certificate to Astro-Zombies • $10 gift certificate to Gold Rush Cupcakes• Two passes to Guild Cinema
Third Place
There was an essentially 27-way tie for third place, with no one agreeing on nuthin’. What separated this valentine from the pack was its legible writing, clever limerick, and absence of threats, masking tape and unidentifiable stains. Well done.
Third Place Prizes
• $20 gift certificate to J.J.’s Pizza• $10 gift certificate to Gold Rush Cupcakes• Two passes to Guild Cinema
