Their submissions might be wildly different, but the four winners of Prior's topsheet competition are similarly anxious to see their art on the company's 2013/14 line of ski and snowboards.
"I was very happy, but I feel like it won't be real until we see them," says Catherine Roy, whose image of Ullr, the god of snow, spreading the white stuff across a mountain range, was one of the top picks.
Other winners include Vanessa Stark, Kris Kupskay and Leah Winhold. "I was totally not expecting it," says Stark. "I didn't think there'd be four winners. I was super stoked."
Kupskay, who imagined the inspiration behind a totem pole for his submission, initially missed the call from Prior delivering the good news, but made up for it by "spilling coffee and jumping up and down" when he finally found it. "I was really excited. It legitimizes your hustle," he adds.
During October, the public visited the Topsheet Selection Exhibit at the Scotia Creek Gallery and cast over 560 ballots for their favourite three out of 22 finalists. The new line will be available to purchase in August 2013.
"When I first moved to Whistler I was e-mailing (Prior) like, 'Hey, you need any graphic designs?'" recalls Winhold, her winning submission of a disorienting four-eyed deer propped up next to her.
That was precisely the motivation for the inaugural contest, says Gus Cormack with Prior. "We had a lot of artists contacting us," he says. "We couldn't have all this artwork and not do something with it."
Light it up
The Whistler Arts Council wants to light up the long winter nights with their annual Festival of Lights, slated to run from Dec. 18 to Jan. 7. The council has put out a call for submissions of lanterns, light sculptures and installations for the exhibit at Millennium Place. The creator of the most unique piece will take home $500.
Art must be delivered to Millennium Place before Nov. 30 with a fire safe light source, hanging hardware and family friendly images. For a complete list of rules visit www.artswhistler.com.
script competition
The Whistler Film Festival has announced the 12 teams of Canadian writers and producers chosen for the inaugural China Canada Gateway for Film Script Competition.
The contest, aimed at stimulating financing from abroad for Canadian feature films, will give the teams a chance to pitch their projects to Chinese studios, with $15 million up for grabs. Up to three films will be chosen for development in 2012, but a total of nine projects will be developed over the next three years. Each project is expected to cost $5 million.
The finalists, who were chosen from 109 applicants, will pitch their scripts during the WFF's industry summit Nov. 29. For a complete list of finalisits visit www.whistlerfilmfestival.com.
Swoon for Squamish
Twilight hunk Robert Pattison is, like, totally into Squamish, you guys. The star of the vampire franchise says the area is "one of the best places I've ever worked because there's no one around," according to Hollywood Life. "You're free to do whatever you want basically."
Perhaps not the most common reason to love a location, but we'll take it. Pattison also had some glowing words for Hogtown. "Toronto is one of my favourite cities," he says. "The people just kind of leave you alone. That's something I really appreciate about Canada."
