Suanin on deviantART

Hi guys!

There are only two weeks left until the deadline of the 'Express, Don't Repress' contest, so if you want to participate but haven't started working on your entry yet, you'd better get cracking! Time flies, especially when you're having fun - we all know that!

Right. That being said, let me elaborate on the title of this journal entry. So far, I've already received 306 entries, many of which are photographs. Since the entries will partly be judged on their technique and skill and the majority of the judges do not have any experience with photography, I'm looking for two artists who consider photography as their main field of work and who would be willing to be a judge for the 'Express, Don't Repress' contest. If you're interested, send me a note and I'll get back to you!

I'll also be giving away another Kiriban feature to the person who catches my 15,999th pageview. Keep your eyes peeled, people!

By the way, has anyone wearing contacts ever had the experience of suddenly holding only half of their lens in their hand? I have, and I can tell you: it's weird.

Contacts aren't supposed to fall apart!

- Nina

THEME

To express the emotions of life is to live. To express the life of emotions is to make art.
- Jane Heap

What would we be without emotions? It’s a philosophical question many people have probably asked themselves at some point in their lives, and I think the answer is very simple: without emotions, we simply wouldn’t be. Emotions make us human, they define who we are, and they will always be a part of us. Which is what makes them so very interesting!

You are all invited to take part in this contest by sending in your drawings, paintings, photographs, sculptures, etc. of people (or animals, for that matter) who, in some way or another, convey a certain emotion, mood, or feeling. That’s the basic idea – the rest is up to you!

Here are a few emotions and feelings you could use, in case you need some inspiration:

happiness, anger, sadness, pride, guilt, shame, longing, affection, love, hate, pain, sorrow, depression, euphoria, fear, anxiety, apprehension, contentment, enthusiasm, excitement…

As you can see, the possibilities are endless. You don’t have to restrict yourself to one of the basic emotions; you can also choose to show a more abstract feeling that might not classify as an emotion per se.

RULES

All visual media are allowed – in other words, everything apart from literature will be accepted (traditional and digital art, photography, artisan crafts, stock images, etc.).

Using literature in combination with a visual medium (e.g., a drawing with a short poem written next to it) is allowed as well. If you choose to do this, however, you should submit your deviation in one of the art categories, not in the literature category.

You can send in both old and new deviations, so entries do not have to be created especially for this contest.

Crude or sexual content is not allowed. This doesn’t mean that your entry can’t have any blood or nudity in it, but, hey – there are limits.

Your entry must have some sort of human or animal form in it. This can be an entire body or a face, a pair of scowling eyes, flushed cheeks or lips curled up in a smile, a dangling foot or two intertwined hands, one person, a group, a couple – well, you catch my drift. Anything will do, really, as long as the emotion is conveyed by living, breathing creatures. (An example of an entry that will not be accepted is a picture of a deserted street to illustrate a feeling of isolation.)

There are no other rules concerning the content of your entry. You have a free rein!

Please let me know which emotion or feeling is portrayed in your entry. It doesn’t matter how you do this: you can put it in the title of your deviation, write it in your Artist’s Comments, or tell me by sending me a note.

You can submit up to two entries per person.

And last but not least: your entry must be made by you. Anyone found guilty of art theft will be reported to dA immediately. Naturally you are allowed to use references, but if you do, please credit the original artist.

ENTERING

To enter the contest, just send me (*Suanin) a note with the thumbnail or link to your deviation.

Please put my icon (: iconsuanin : with the colons, but without the spaces) or a link to the news article in your Artist’s Comments, to help spread the word about the contest.

I’d greatly appreciate it if you would support the news article about the contest to make it popular. Thank you!