Welcome to the 2015 Blank Creation Contest

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Ed McDonnell

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Oct 20, 2008
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Melbourne, FL
Pen Blank Creation Contest​

This is a contest where IAP blank makers can showcase their talents in a head to head competition with each other. The contest is open to "made" blanks of all kinds. This contest will be for the making of a single blank of specified dimensions, not a pen. This contest is about the blank, not the stuff that gets attached to your beautiful blanks to turn them into pens, so we only want to see the blank (finished as it would appear on a pen).

In addition to the Universal Bash Guideline, the contest rules are as follows:

The Rules:
1) The blank must be made by you (the person entering the contest) from raw materials.

2) There are no restrictions on tools, techniques or materials. Any kind of blank qualifies as long as you made it. However, the creation of the blank must involve some other activity than just turning something round.

3) It is intended that you make a blank specifically for this contest. Your blank can not have been shown in any form (as a blank or incorporated into something else) in any way (on the web, in a catalog, at a meeting, whatever) before the contest judging is completed and winners are announced. This means you shouldn't make a blank that looks like one you've already shown somewhere. Push yourself and make something new and special for the contest.

4) IAP members who sell their blanks commercially are allowed to participate, but they should make a special blank specifically for this competition.

5) The blank should be finished as though it was ready to be assembled into a pen and be between 2 inches (50.8mm) and 2-1/2 inches (63.5mm) long. Longer blanks can either be cut to size for photos or you can crop the picture to show your desired section of the longer blank (adhering to the photo guidelines below).

6) The blank can be tubed or not. It can be solid or drilled. It should look like it is ready to be assembled into a pen (but it doesn't have to be actually ready (e.g. with a hole in it).

7) Contest entries may submitted after January 31 and before February 16 as explained below.

8) Only one blank may be submitted.​

How to enter:
1. You will need to submit five pictures to enter.

2. The first four pictures should have the blank positioned horizontally on a plain solid color background and the pictures should be 960 pixels wide by 480 pixels tall. Rotate the blank in each of the four pictures so that all parts of the blank are visible in at least one of the pictures. The blank should fill the picture as much as possible. No props are allowed. Resizing and cropping of your photo are allowed. Adjustments to make the picture "true to life" are allowed (e.g. color balance or exposure adjustment), but should be minimal. Adjustments to hide things or make the blank look like something it is not are not allowed. If there is dust or flaws visible in the picture then (a) retake the pictures after removing the dust / fixing the flaw (real world, not photoshop flaw removal) or (b) submit as is. Contest chair reserves the right to crop / resize photos to bring them into compliance with contest guidelines. If you are cropping a photo of a longer blank to meet the size limit, all photos must be of the same section of the blank. No picking the best section of each side of the blank to submit. Wrap tape around the blank at the ends of the area you are submitting to help you insure you take pictures of the same section of the blank in each shot. The edges of the tape should be visible in the final photo. You may only crop for length, not for diameter.

3. The fifth picture should be a group shot of the materials used to make your blank. For example, can of resin, stamps, clay canes, metal, dyes, powders. Whatever you used.

4. All pictures should be submitted as jpg files with enough compression to keep each file size under 256KB. Email your five entry pictures and the required information (see below) to Bash11Blank@comcast.net. The following information is required:
a. The length and max diameter of your blank
b. An Artist / Artisan / Craftsman / Blank Maker statement (If you call yourself something else not in this list, pretend your title is in the list.). This is your chance to sell your blank to the voters (200 word limit) and should help the voters understand what you did.
c. Your IAP user name and your real name.
d. Prize winners may additionally be required to submit a mailing address for prize delivery, but this is not required with the entry.​

5. All emails submitted during the contest will be retained by me until the contest ends. After the contest is completed I will delete all emails I have received as well as the email account used for this contest. I will not retain or share email addresses with anyone.​

Judging:
1. Winners will be decided by popular vote.

2. Depending on the number of entries there may be more than one vote.

3. Pictures will be posted and voting will begin on Monday February 16.

4. Winners will be announced after Wednesday February 18.​

Prizes:
First Place
Constant Laubscher Lazerlinez - Gift Certificate #3 $125

Second Place
Dougs Wood Working - 3/8" tool and handle $100

Third Place
Lee Valley - Gift Certificate $50
Jim Mahan (jimm1) - Jack Daniels Blanks #1 $30

All dates / times mentioned are South Florida time. Any questions or comments? Send an email to the above address, send a PM to Ed McDonnell or post a reply to this thread.
 
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