Greetings from Bloomington

by Nicole Kauffman
The Scene
May 25, 2006

One thing's certain about the biannual Monroe County Postcard Series: People love it, and they prove it by buying cards.

Sure, the contest promotes the community as an "arts community," and it gives the artists a couple hundred bucks, but people really love the series because they've discovered far more uses for the images than just dropping someone a note from south-central Indiana. Save-the-date cards for special events, party invitations, gift tags, affordable framed art for the home and so on.

Sponsored by the Bloomington Community Arts Commission, the postcard contest features original designs by people who live or work in Monroe County, and the designs must be inspired by life there. Ten winning entries are printed and sold, with proceeds going to future award monies.

This year, a total of 104 submissions were received; artists could enter up to three each. They were reviewed by judges Tom Rhea, executive director of the IU Friends of Art and an H-T contributor; Georgia Strange, director of the IU School of Fine Arts; cartoonist and H-T contributor Joe Lee; and artist Jaime Sweany, who owns Wandering Turtle Art Gallery & Gifts.

The 20 finalists and 10 winning pieces will be on display through Wednesday at City Hall, 401 N. Morton St. Here's a bit about their creators.

Patrick Parker, "Perception" Parker is a 19-year-old Ivy Tech student who takes photographs as a hobby. He took "Perception" at the quarries, while on a hike. "I just kind of chanced upon it," he said. Two years ago, another photo of Parker's received an honorable mention in the contest.