Painting
Painting – Watercolor – paintings made where all pigments are mixed with water rather than with oil and also to the paintings produced by this process. May be applied to paper or other flat surface.
Painting – Oils – painting where a type of paint is used that is made with natural oils such as linseed, walnut, or poppy, as the medium to bind the pigment. May be applied to canvas, board or other flat surface
Painting – Colored Pencil/Charcoal – Any painting or drawing made with colored pencils or charcoal. May be an original drawing or from a printed page. May be applied to paper or other flat surface
Painting – Acrylics – paintings made where the paint is fast-drying paint containing pigment suspended in an acrylic polymer emulsion. May be applied to canvas, board, or other flat surface
Painting – Decorative – Any painting technique or medium applied to a surface other than paper or canvas . Contemporary decorative painting includes tole painting, folk art, faux finishing, etc.
Photography
A photograph may be entered in only one category (for example: the same photo may not be entered in Landscape – color and Landscape – Black & White. Nor can a photo be entered in both action and animals).
Photography – Color -photography that uses all colors which can be produced. It does not include hand colored or Photo chrome photographs.
Photography – Black & White – Black-and-white photographs include black and white plus include varying shades of gray, and sometimes sepia, but no other colors.
Photography – Landscape – landscape photography is scenery, of any kind from wilderness vistas to urban cityscapes. The picture must contain some type of land or sea. The primary subject is the scenery although the picture may contain other, secondary, elements such as people, animals or objects that are not truly part of the scenery. Landscape photographers show little or no human activity in their photos.
Photography – Action Photos – photographs of some type of fast moving action.
Photography – Architecture – photography that will convey the experience of being in and around a built environment. Photos capture the exteriors and/or interiors of domestic, commercial, religious, institutional, engineering structures and anything that is man-made.
Photography – Animals – photographs of any of a kingdom of living things including many-celled organisms that typically differ from plants. Mammals, birds, reptiles and insects all fall into this category.
Photography – Human Subject – pictures that include all or part of the human being as the principal focus of the picture.
Photography – Botanical – photographs depict plants accurately.
*Photography – Special Theme – A silhouette is the image of a person, animal, object or scene represented as a solid shape of a single color, usually black. Color silhouette may have foreground or background with color.
Fiber Arts
Knitting – Wearable – needlework created by interlacing yarn in a series of connected loops using straight eyeless needles to create something that can be worn, especially a garment.
Knitting – Decorative – needlework created by interlacing yarn in a series of connected loops using straight eyeless needles to create something that is used to decorate or embellish; other items not wearable.
Knitting – Blankets/Afghans (NOT quilted) – needlework created by interlacing yarn in a series of connected loops using straight eyeless needles to create something that is used for warmth.
Knitting – Twiddle Muff -A double thickness hand muff with bits and bobs attached inside and out. It is designed to provide a stimulation activity for restless hands for patients suffering from dementia.
Crocheting – Wearable – to make a piece of needlework by looping thread with a hooked needle to create something that can be worn, especially a garment.
Crocheting – Decorative -to make a piece of needlework by looping thread with a hooked needle to create something that is used to decorate or embellish; other items not wearable.
Crocheting – Blankets/Afghans (NOT quilted) – to make a piece of needlework by looping thread with a hooked needle that is used for warmth.
Crocheting -Twiddle Muff -A double thickness hand muff with bits and bobs attached inside and out. It is designed to provide a stimulation activity for restless hands for patients suffering from dementia.
Weaving – something that is constructed by interlacing or interweaving strips or strands of material.
Tatting – handmade lace fashioned by looping and knotting a single strand of heavy-duty thread on a small hand shuttle or needle.
Machine Embroidery – any item made using a machine to either make the object or the embellishment to attach to an object, such as to clothing, appliqués, etc.
Other – any other style of fine art, which uses textiles such as fabric, yarn, and natural and synthetic fibers. It focuses on the materials and on the manual labor involved as part of its significance.
Handstitchery
Needlepoint – a form of (a) plastic or (b) fabric canvas work embroidery, in which any type of yarn thread or floss is stitched through an open weave canvas which creates precise holes. Canvases are usually completely covered.
Embroidery – handcraft of decorating fabric or other materials with needle and thread or yarn (called crewel embroidery). Embroidery may also incorporate other materials such as metal strips, pearls, beads, quills, and sequins.
Cross Stitch – (a) Counted method is done using Aida cloth, linen or even weave fabric. The fabric is plain and worked from a pattern. (b) Stamped method is done using the cross stitch on a fabric stamped with the pattern and worked according to the patterns color chart.
Heritage Skills
Basketry – weaving unspun vegetable fibers into a basket or other similar form. Basketry is made from a variety of fibrous or pliable materials—anything that will bend and form a shape. Examples include pine straw, animal hair, hide, grasses, thread, and wood.
Decoupage – A decorative technique in which a design is made of cut-out pieces of printed paper glued onto a flat base and then varnished.
Candlewicking – a form of embroidery that traditionally uses unbleached cotton thread on a piece of unbleached muslin. Modern designs include colored floss embroidery with the traditional stitching.
Stuffed Animals/Balls/Ornaments – a stuffed animal/ball/ornament is sewn from cloth, plush, or other textiles, and stuffed with straw, beans, plastic pellets, cotton, synthetic fibers, or other similar materials.
Recycled Crafts Recycled Crafts – Wearable – to recondition and adapt to a new use or function something to create an item that can be worn, especially a garment. The item must have been used before, not a new item repurposed. Include a short note of what the item was prior to its new use and what you did to change it.
Recycled Crafts – Decorative – to recondition and adapt to a new use or function something that is used to decorate or embellish; other items not wearable. The item must have been used before, not a new item repurposed. Include a short note of what the item was prior to its new use and what you did to change it.
Quilting
Quilting – Hand Quilted – Stitching through the three layers of a traditional quilt–the quilt backing, the batting and the quilt top. Appliquéd or pieced work is done by hand.
Quilting – Machine Quilted – the same as hand quilting only is done using a sewing machine. No commercial quilting*.
Quilting – Mixed Quilted – uses a combination of hand quilting and machine quilting. No commercial quilting*.
Quilting – Baby Sized – while there is no set rule, the most common size and dimensions of a baby quilt is the size of a crib bed or mattress or about 36″x52″. No commercial quilting*.
Quilting – Appliquéd – appliqué is the art of sewing smaller pieces of fabric onto a larger background by hand or by machine. No commercial quilting*.
Quilting – Pieced – pieces of fabric that are sewn together in some type of pattern either by hand or by machine. No commercial quilting*.
Quilting – Mixed – a quilt made with a mixture of appliqué and pieced techniques. No commercial quilting*.
Quilting – Holiday – Any quilted item that adds to the décor or significance of a specific holiday. Wall hangings, table runners, place mats, etc. No commercial quilting*.
Quilting – Other – Any item not already mentioned such as clothing, wall hangings that are not holiday themed, craft item, etc. No commercial quilting*.
*Commercial quilting is defined as any quilting done by someone other than the person entering the item.
Writing
Writing – Prose – Fiction – a short story, novel, novella, screenplay, or drama, or other type of writing that is not factual. (500-5000 words) No frames, plain white paper only. Secured in report folders.
Writing – Prose – Non-Fiction – non-fiction writing is always informative. It communicates knowledge about facts, situations, or events. (500-5000 words) No frames, plain white paper only. Secured in report folders
Writing – Essay – a short piece of writing on a particular subject, it may include values, beliefs, attitudes etc.
Writing – Poetry – a poem is a composition written in verse. Poems may take the form of measures consisting of patterns of stresses (metric feet) or of patterns of different-length syllables (as in classical prosody); and they may or may not utilize rhyme. (100-2000 words) Secured in report folders.
Clothing
Clothing – Decorated – clothing that has been furnished, provided, or adorned with something ornamental, embellish, sewn or painted.
Clothing – Hand Made – any garment that is either hand sewn or made on a machine by an individual.
Clothing – Charitable – Fidget Apron/pillow/lap blanknet – Item with sensory objects (zippers, buttons, pockets pompoms, etc) attached to stimulate dementia patients.
Holiday Decorations
Holiday Decorations – anything that is created, embellished, sewn, (no quilted items), painted and/or hand-made that makes a specific holiday more attractive by adding ornament, color, etc. This includes all handmade ornaments. No sets (more than one related item) or wreaths are allowed. Kits are allowed. Christmas ornaments should be designed to hang on a Christmas tree and MUST be securely displayed for exhibiting.
Jewelry
Jewelry – any item of jewelry that is made from materials consisting of stone, glass, wood, shell, plastic, or the like.
Beading
Beading – Decorative items, other than jewelry, that are created or embellished with beads
Gourd Art
Gourd Art – creating works of art by painting, carving, burning, and/or embellishing dried gourd shells. No plastic/artificial shells allowed.
Paper Crafts
Paper Crafts – Greeting Cards – Any paper craft that’s purpose is used as some type of greeting. Must be in card format, decorated using a general theme (Christmas, Birthday, Thank you, etc.) with or without envelope.
Paper Crafts – Quilling – an art form that involves the use of strips of paper that are rolled, shaped, and glued together to create decorative designs.
Paper Crafts – Scrap Booking – a page of a book or album in which to mount and decorate, with newspaper clippings, pictures, etc. documenting any activity.
Paper Crafts – Other – any other item not meeting the definitions of Greeting Cards, Quilling, or Scrapbooking that is created or embellished with paper.
Purses
Purses – handmade – a container that is made from scratch (not just embellished) that is used for carrying money and small personal items or accessories. No kits.
Toys
Toys – handmade – anything that is made from scratch that is designed to be used in play. Includes Dolls. No kits.
*Definitions in ITALIC denote changes. **Definitions are from Internet research and dictionaries.
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