Student Book Arts Competition

 The 8^th Annual UCF Student Book Arts Competition is drawing to a close. The entries have been received and judged, the winners announced, and the exhibit that will run for the month of February is up. This is the third year I’ve coordinated and judged the competition and I am pleased to say it is getting better and better. We’ve gone from four entries my first year to nine and in general the quality has risen as well. This year had so many quality entries that we opened up a second place position.

Matthew Gregor’s The Trap House Rules was awarded a well-deserved first place. Using woodcuts and screenprints, this book illustrates the experience of a drug addict visiting the trap house. The poem inside is well written and full of dark humor, and the grungy style throughout the book adds to the reader’s experience.

Second place was awarded to Second Skin by Alesha Hassard. This book’s fine craftsmanship, tasteful reproductions of the artist’s original delicate drawings and marbled paper, and insightful poems concerning mortality would not allow this work to go unrecognized. Alesha is now a two-time winner of the Student Book Arts Competition.

None of this would have been possible without the help of our fantastic judges. Joining me were Jean Gould, Dawn Rosendahl, and EllenKnudson. This was the first time I’ve worked with Ellen Knudson, and I sincerely hope she’s willing to continue her involvement with this competition. I found her judging to be extremely well thought out and her judge’s comments to be insightful and eloquently written. I was also excited to include Dawn Rosendahl as a judge since we were both Artists-in-Action at the Maitland Art Center.

To see all the entries, please visit the facebook album.