Begin now creating art for the 2022-23 Saint Kosmas Art Contest!

Students may submit one piece of artwork per month
from May - December 2022

• The theme for 2022-23 will be the same, but the theme will be extended to also include elements of nature referenced on 5th day of creation.

• The object of this theme is to help students focus on the beauty of the natural world that was created by God. Students are asked to create artwork that focuses on elements of nature that we see in the world today that were referenced in the Genesis account of the first five days of Creation. Students should NOT attempt to draw the Creation as an event in time, or as an action of God, nor should the art be symbolic, allegorical, or surreal.

• Family Registration Form for Contest Participation is required annually to participate.

• If you are a professional artist, illustrator, iconographer, designer, or art teacher and would be interested as serving as a judge for this contest please contact us.

Eligibility:  Contestant must be an Orthodox Christian (baptized Orthodox or officially enrolled as a catechumen in the Orthodox Church) with a birth year of 2003 or later (maximum age being those turning 19 in the year 2022). There are no eligibility restrictions based on Orthodox jurisdiction, type of schooling, or country of residence. Parent of Contestant is required to submit the “Family Registration Form for the 2022-23 Saint Kosmas Contests” once per family per year before submitting entries in the contests.

Submission Limit: 1 piece per child per calendar month between May 1, 2022 and December 31, 2022. This translates to a maximum of 8 entries IF the student is submitting one per month beginning in May 2022. Multiple submissions per student in one month will not be accepted. December 31, 2022 is the deadline for the 2022-23 Saint Kosmas Art Contest.

Announcement of Winners: January 15, 2023

Distribution of Awards: All students who place in this contest, and are present at the 2023 Saint Kosmas Conference, will be presented with their award at the conference. For those winners NOT in attendance at the conference or oratorical festival, awards will be mailed out following the conference.

2021-22 Saint Kosmas Art Contest

THEME:
The Beauty of God’s Creation Represented in
THE FIRST FOUR DAYS OF CREATION
(Genesis 1:3 - 2:3)

3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.
5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.
6 And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.
7 And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.
8 And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.
9 And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.
10 And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.
11 And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.
12 And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
13 And the evening and the morning were the third day.
14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:
15 And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.
16 And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.
17 And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth,
18 And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.
19 And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.

THEME INTERPRETATION

Depict any of the following:

• Light and/or Darkness

• Day and/or Night

• Water (Seas, Oceans, Lakes, Rivers, etc.)

• Firmament (Clouds, Fog, Dew, etc.)

• Land or Landforms

• Plants (Grass, Plants, Trees, etc.)

• Seasons

• Sun, Moon, and/or Stars

Sun, Moon, and Stars

Artist: Silouan Nelson
Birth year: 2014
Age 7 in 2021

Medium: watercolors on watercolor paper, wet-on-wet technique

Description: The lights of the heavens (sun, moon and starts) are shown radiating above the dry land of earth. The first four days of creation are represented in this painting.

Recognition: 1st Place
(receiving a total of 5.5 points from 3 judges)

State of Residence: Louisiana
Parish or Church Community: St. John the Divine Antiochian Orthodox Mission, Lake Charles, Louisiana

Cross of Creation

Artist: Elena Enke
Birth year: 2006
Age 15 in 2021

Medium: colored pencils

Description: This piece is intended to depict the first four days of creation seen through the lens of the cross. The radiant light shows how creation shone prior to the Fall of Man.

Recognition: 2nd Place
(receiving a total of 5 points from 2 judges)

State of Residence: California
Parish or Church Community: St. Andrew Orthodox Church, Riverside, California

Division of the Waters

Artist: Ava Ortwein
Birth year: 2004
Age 17 in 2021

Medium: pen on watercolor paper

Description: The Division of the Firmaments represents the parting of the Sky from the Sea and the Unformed to the Formed.

Recognition: tied for 3rd Place
(receiving a total of 4 points from 2 judges)

State of Residence: Mississippi
Parish or Church Community: St. John Orthodox Church, Memphis, Tennessee

The Creation of the First Four Days

Artist: Sarah Hisert
Birth year: 2012
Age 9 in 2021

Medium: markers

Description: It has the first 4 days with the land parted from the sea, the trees bearing fruit and bushes bearing flowers. It shows the light separated from the darkness as created by God's own hand.

Recognition: tied for 3rd Place
(receiving a total of 4 points from 2 judges)

State of Residence: California
Parish or Church Community: Ascension Greek Orthodox Cathedral, Oakland, California

First Four Days of Creation from a Monastery Window

Artist: Katherine Hawk
Birth year: 2007
Age 14 in 2021

Medium: colored pencils

Description: Elements of the first four days of Creation as seen through a monastery window—day and night; water and dry land; vegetation; sun and moon.

Recognition: Honorable Mention

State of Residence: Texas
Parish or Church Community: Holy Archangels Greek Orthodox Monastery, Kendalia, Texas

All Creation Praises God

Artist: Katherine Hawk
Birth year: 2007
Age 14 in 2021

Medium: colored pencils

Description: A monk prays in the beauty of nature—the third day of Creation: dry land and water; vegetation.

Recognition: Honorable Mention

State of Residence: Texas
Parish or Church Community: Holy Archangels Greek Orthodox Monastery, Kendalia, Texas

Hand of Blessing

Artist: Seraphim Nelson
Birth year: 2009
Age 12 in 2021
State of Residence: Louisiana

Medium: acrylic on canvas

Description: The blessing hand of the Logos creating the lights of the cosmos, with a seraphim woven into the tapestry of creation.

Recognition: Honorable Mention

State of Residence: Louisiana
Parish or Church Community: St. John the Divine Antiochian Orthodox Mission, Lake Charles, Louisiana

God Made the Forests

Artist: Peter Mirica
Birth year: 2013
Age 8 in 2021

Medium: brush markers

Description: This painting represents the third day of creation in which God made the forests.

Recognition: Honorable Mention

State of Residence: New Hampshire
Parish or Church Community: Holy Resurrection Orthodox Church (OCA), Claremont, New Hampshire

Begin now creating art for the 2022-23 Saint Kosmas Art Contest!

STUDENTS MAY SUBMIT ONE PIECE OF ARTWORK PER MONTH
FROM MAY - DECEMBER 2022

2020-21 Saint Kosmas Art Contest
Presentation of the 75+ Finalists

“Timeless Orthodoxy in the 21st Century”

© Copyright 2021 Saint Kosmas Orthodox Christian Education Association. All rights reserved. The artwork presented on this page may not be reproduced, posted, or published in any media form or on any website or social media platform without the written permission of the artist and/or parent or guardian of the artist. Permission is granted to share only by linking to this webpage. Thank you for respecting the intellectual property of these young artists!

Thank you to all of the parents and teachers who facilitated the children’s participation in this contest! And thanks to all of the children for the beautiful work!

This year the Saint Kosmas Contests received unprecedented participation, including entries from Russia, Romania, Bulgaria, and Canada. The U.S. participation included entries from twenty-two states. We regret that we cannot post all of the art entries that were submitted. We present here the 75+ finalists for the art contest, divided into six different age categories. While this contest is being judged, there is no identifying information about the artist of each piece. However, after winners are chosen, we will add to this page each artist’s name, age, and state or country of residence. The ID number next to each piece of artwork does not imply any winning placement, rank, or hierarchy in the contest. This number is for identification purposes only.

If you are interested in sponsoring any of the 2021-22 Saint Kosmas Contests, please contact us. Next year’s contests will include art, photography, essay, oratorical festival, and a “young inventors” competition. Join us!

We want to express our sincere appreciation to the five judges of this year’s art contest for the time and thoughtful attention they gave to judging this large group of finalists. We are honored and grateful to have this panel of professional artists and art instructors as judges! Thank you!

The judges are Presv. Martha Berge, Ms. Justin Bowles, Fr. Luke Dingman, Mrs. Megan Gilbert, and Mrs. Egle-Ekaterine Potamitis. We are still in the process of developing a webpage to showcase all of the judges’ picks, as well as the judges’ bios and comments to the students. We will send out a notification as soon as we complete the judge’s page. Until then, we present to you a listing of the winners for “Best of Show” as well as the winners for each age division. Subscribe to our bi-monthly email list to receive notifications.

Birth Years 2001-2006 (age 15-20 in 2021)

8 Finalists for age 15-20

(The ID number next to each piece of artwork does not imply any winning placement, rank, or hierarchy in the contest. This number is for identification purposes only.)

Birth Years 2007-2008 (age 13-14 in 2021)

(15 Finalists for age 13-14)

Birth Years 2009-2010 (age 11-12 in 2021)

(16 FINALISTS FOR AGE 11-12)

Birth Years 2011-2012 (age 9-10 in 2021)

(16 FINALISTS FOR AGE 9-10)

Birth Years 2013-2014 (age 7-8 in 2021)

(17 FINALISTS FOR AGE 7-8)

Birth Years 2015-2017 (age 4-6 in 2021)

This age group will not be “judged.” However, we present here a sample of the artistic expression of these youngest children.

The Ten Finalists and Selected Winners
of the 2019 St. Kosmas Fine Art Contest

(Displayed in order of age of the artist, from youngest to oldest)

Theme: “Timeless Orthodoxy in the 21st Century”

Judges:
Egle-Ekaterine Potamitis (Greece)
Fr. Luke Dingman (California)
Justin Autumn Bowles (Tennessee)
Megan Gilbert (Kansas)

“My Baptism”

“The Homily”

“In My Church, I Love the Weddings”

“I Really Love Forgiveness Vespers”

“Summer Day at St. Nektarios Monastery”

Paschal Greeting with Red Egg

A Shrine in the City

Jesus Christ Unites the Eras

Chapel of Archangel Michael at Panagia Vlahernon Monastery in Florida

In the City of a Saint

The Judges
for the 2019 St. Kosmas Fine Art Contest

(Bios, Choices for Winners, and Comments to the Participants)

Theme: “Timeless Orthodoxy in the 21st Century”

To the Judges from St. Kosmas Homeschool Association:

We want to express our sincere appreciation for the time you gave to judging this contest, not only for your thoughtful consideration of your choices for winners, but also for offering feedback to the participants. We value your contribution to this program and we hope to have the privilege of continuing to work with you in future years! Thank you!

Justin Autumn Bowles (Tennessee)

Justin Autumn Bowles holds a Bachelors of Fine Art in Sculpture and a Masters of Fine Art in Studio Arts. She is an exhibiting artist whose work focuses primarily on collage and paper sculpture. Her online portfolio can be found at justinautumnbowles.com .

Justin’s Picks:

1. In the City of a Saint

2. A Shrine in the City

3. In My Church I Love the Weddings
   
   ”I think these have the most interesting compositions and are technically the best.” - Justin

Fr. Luke Dingman (California)

Fr. Luke cannot remember a time when he was not sketching or painting. Even as a toddler his mother kept him busy scribbling with crayons on paper laid out on the kitchen floor. He has created art in many different mediums from acrylics and oils to water color and pen and ink. Over the years his work has included cartooning, illustrations, advertising, caricatures, and fine art, as in oil and acrylic paintings. In the last 40 years he has primarily painted Byzantine-style icons for Orthodox Christians and churches. When Parkinson’s disease allows him the ability to paint, he pretty much limits himself to working on icons for his home church, Saint Lawrence Orthodox Christian Church in Felton, California. A sampling of his works can be viewed on his website LukeDingman.com . A documentary film about some of his work can be found on OrthodoxChristianArt.com .

Learning to Draw: A Guide from Fr. Luke Dingman

Learn to draw well with this “tried and true” method:

• See big shape first. Use your eyes well! Where do shapes meet and intersect, etc. If you cannot SEE it (in your head and/or with your eyes), you will not be able to draw it. Draw from real life most of the time to train yourself to see shapes/images/proportions instead of relying on imagination. (There is a place for both).

• Begin by sketching loose and light to help get parts in their proper place and proportion.

• Compare sizes and proportions — and then

• Begin adding detail and definition, in good proportion, after all the parts are there.

Fr. Luke’s Picks:

1. I Really Love Forgiveness Vespers
   Exuberant, detailed - did a good job of communicating the joy of Forgiveness Sunday with Icons/people/carpet

2. In The City of a Saint
   Good perspective and detail with a difficult subject.

3. Jesus Christ Unites the Eras
   Ambitious and imaginative. Good rendition of an icon. (Keep it up! We need more iconographers!)

Megan Gilbert (Kansas)

Megan studied Fine Art at Point Loma Nazarene University where she met her husband and they encountered the Orthodox Church while studying abroad in Greece. They currently live in Wichita, Kansas with their three children. Megan does free-lance illustration and has published a few Orthodox children’s books with Ancient Faith Publishing. Her online portfolio can be found at megan-gilbert.com .

Megan’s Picks

1. In the City of a Saint
   This 16 year old artist has great technical skill, consistency of stroke, and interesting perspective and framing of the subject matter. Their artist statement shows that they took the challenge of the theme “Timeless Orthodoxy in the 21st Century”, put some thought into it and articulately expressed what this means to them.

2. Chapel of Archangel Michael at Panagia Vlahernon Monastery in Florida
   This 14 year old also creatively interpreted the theme and articulated it in their artist statement: the fact that we can visit a place that is built in an ancient Byzazntine style in our modern world displays “Timeless Orthodoxy”. The artist has a strong sense of design as seen in their framing, line work, and shape building with shadows and highlights. I love the yellow flowers at the bottom, they are simple and pleasing and contrasts very well with the blue domes.

3. In My Church I love the Weddings
   This 9 year old exhibits a great talent for their age. They have a strong sense of line, figure depiction and color. The characters in their illustration are dressed timelessly and the joy of the sacrament is truly timeless. You can see their joy in their painting.

Egle-Ekaterine Potamitis (Greece)

Egle-Ekaterine Potamitis is the illustrator and author/co-author of the collection of Orthodox children's books published by Potamitis Publishing. She is from Lithuania, and now resides in Greece with her husband and six children. They are committed to sharing the lives of the saints with children of all languages. Their website is OrthodoxChildrensBooks.com .

Egle-Ekaterine’s Picks:

1. Jesus Christ Unites the Eras
   The creativity and experienced hand of the young artist are fully displayed.

2. A Shrine in the City
   The composition is excellent and the mood of the modern city is nicely captured.

3. The Homily
   Lovely attention to detail, warm and joyful colors.