Saturday, May 31, 2014

big raffle, tiny painting!

Well, yesterday was the big raffle drawing for my tiny painting, "Lilac Bud," at Curtis Memorial Library! The time leading up to the raffle was very exciting. Besides featuring the raffle page prominently on the library's website, Facebook page, and Twitter page, Mike Gorzka (Curtis Memorial Library's webmaster and the gentleman behind "Curtis Creative Spaces") printed up a beautiful flyer with a photo of "Lilac Bud" on it and hung it all over town! Here are some of the places where I spotted it:

This one was at Wild Oats Bakery & Cafe...

...this one was at Gulf of Maine Books...

...this one was at Flipside Pizza...

...and this one was at Hannaford!

The raffle drawing was scheduled for 5 pm yesterday, and Mike asked me if I would like to pull the winning ticket out of the basket of entries. This sounded like fun, so of course, I said, "Yes!" Terry joined me, and the two of us walked over to the library (after a brief stop at Cote's Ice Cream...yum!). We chatted with Mike for a little bit before the drawing, and he said there were over 100 unique visits to the raffle page, with the average amount of time spent being roughly four and a half minutes. Not bad! Mike also shared with me many of the comments people left on the website, and thankfully people were very kind! Here are some of my favorites: 
  
"Exciting use of color."

"Immediately I like it. You know it when it strikes. It makes me smile. An emotional sight like aromatherapy."

"Love it- colorful and creative in a small package!"

"I like the way my eyes follow the movement of the leaves."

"Love the colors.....they say HAPPY!!!"

"It is a very vibrant, colorful, fun piece!"

"Beautiful and colorful!  Thank you for having this raffle!"

"It was beautifully done by a very talented lady that put her entire heart into it. I would proudly show it off if I owned it........may the forces be with me!!!!!!! xoxoxoxo"

"Colorful and very sweet!"

"Vibrant, cheery painting!  Love it!"

"It's beautiful - reminds me of the warm summer weather I'm waiting for!!"

"Vibrant, beautiful painting. A perfect colorful addition to any space."


I was feeling pretty good after hearing all the positive feedback "Lilac Bud" received, not only from people who entered, but from the library staff as well. The time finally came for a winner to be drawn, so I put my hand over the basket and said, "I hope whoever wins really, really wants it and will appreciate it! May I choose the right person!"

...and the winner is...


#18! 

Yes, that's right: there were no names on the slips of paper, just numbers Mike had assigned to each entry! I had no idea who the winner was when I left, and I didn't know until quite some time later Friday evening. Unfortunately, I can't let the cat out of the bag right now, because I don't think the winner knows they've won just yet! I don't want to spoil the surprise here, but I promise, I will certainly pass the information along when I can! 

Anyway, I'd like to give a very sincere and heartfelt "thank you" to everyone who entered this raffle, as well as to Mike Gorzka and the staff at Curtis Memorial Library. I've said it before, but it's worth repeating: it can be tough for artists to get their work "out there," and sometimes it feels like no one cares, but that was the complete opposite of what happened here. Thank you to everyone for making this such a positive experience! It is truly appreciated. 


   

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