03/2/14

My Green Dream – Children’s Appreciation of the Arts

Each Fall Frogs Are Green hosts a Kids’ Art Contest. It gives me such a thrill when hundreds of children from around the world answer that call.

These children are enrolled in after school art programs. Their parents must realize how important it is to enrich their child’s education and encourage them to express themselves through art.

I grew up in Queens, New York, and my parents enrolled me in ballet and piano lessons, and my father, an accountant by day and an artist by night, would sit with me and teach me how to draw a house or a tree. He was so excited when I chose art as my career and began my higher education at the School of Visual Arts in New York.

My brother and sister and I were introduced to a thriving cultural world. We would get dressed up and head into New York for the circus, Ice Capades, ballet, museums, Broadway theater and opera. This gave me a rounded appreciation for the arts that I still feel.

Is this culture missing in children’s lives today?

I will tell you that the submissions to the 2013 contest yielded 450 entries, but only a few came from the USA. My only conclusion is that children in this country are not being taught arts appreciation the way I was decades ago. Is this due to the digital age of games and apps, or the economy and arts classes/programs being cut? When children spend their days watching TV and playing games that others have created, and they are not learning how to express themselves, this will hurt them later in life. I’m sure of it.

green-dream-4-artworks-ver2

When I see the artwork that comes in from kids between 3 and 12 from Estonia, Australia, the Philippines, Bangladesh, South Africa, Macedonia, Serbia, India, China and so many other countries it’s clear from their skills that they are not learning just about art but conveying their own personal messages about the state of the environment and how they feel about frogs. The USA is just not seeing how important this ability to self-express is, and so it must change for the next generation.

I’m happy to share that The Distillery Gallery & Artspace in Jersey City, New Jersey does have art classes for kids (as do a few other places here) on Saturday mornings, and it is partnering with Frogs Are Green to bring our “Green Dream” to life and show why children need this education in their lives.

Opening on April 4 and running through April 27, “Green Dream” will be an International Children’s Earth Day Exhibition. It will be the first time Frogs Are Green is showcasing the amazing artwork received over the years. Many of the works will be hung on the walls and a digital projector will show hundreds more. The children in The Distillery art classes will also be showing their frog pictures and are creating flower pots.

kids frog artwork ehibition in jersey city

I hope you will celebrate with us on Earth Day (4.22), Save the Frogs Day (4.26) and join us with your children for this extraordinary event. If you would like to learn more and support this effort to increase environmental awareness and heal the planet, visit the Indiegogo campaign here:

Green Dream – International Children’s Earth Day Exhibition – Indiegogo Campaign

 

 

Video by Brandon Somerton, Filmmaker

01/11/14

Winners 2013 Kids Art Contest

Announcing the Winners of the 2013 Kids’ Art Contest!

Children from countries around the world celebrated frogs and amphibians by drawing, painting, and sculpting remarkable creations. The variety of medium and style was overwhelming and there were 450 entries uploaded! Thank you to all the parents and teachers who aided these children to enter, taught them more about frogs and how they can help them, making this year’s contest another fabulous success! It was very difficult to choose from among all the unique entries. So incredibly creative and inspiring. Please be sure to enter again next year and don’t forget to contact founder, Susan Newman at Frogs Are Green if you would like your Winning Certificate!

The Winners are as follows:

2013 Kids Art Contest – Ages 3-6:

1st Winner: Mia Dmnjanovic, 6 years, Serbia

1st Winner age 6 Mia Dmnjanovic, kids art contest

2nd Winner: Bosco Chung, 5 years, Hong Kong

2nd winner, age 5, Bosco, Hong Kong, kids art contest

3rd Winner: Sophia Blanck, 6 years, Macedonia

3rd winner, age 6, Sophia Blanck, Macedonia, kids art contest

Honorable Mention:

Dusa, 5 years, Serbia

Dusa, 5 yrs, Serbia, kids art contest

Charmaine Tsang Pui Ting, 5 years, Hong Kong

Charmaine Tsang Pui Ting, 5 yrs, Hong Kong, kids art contest

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2013 Kids Art Contest – Ages 7-9:

1st Winner: Matthew L, 8 years, Creative Minds Art Studio, Portland, Oregon, USA

1st winnner, Matthew L., 8 yrs, Oregon, USA, Kids Art Contest

2nd Winner (and Winner of BEST ENVIRONMENTAL): Tiffany Li, 9 years, USA

2nd Winner, Tiffany Li, 9yrs, USA, Kids Art Contest

3rd Winner: Karina Gnatova, 9 years, Estonia

3rd winner, Karina Gnatova, 9yrs, Estonia, kids art contest

Honorable Mention:

Charmaine Yuxin Wong, 8 years, Singapore

Charmaine Yuxin Wong, 8 yrs, Singapore, kids art contest

Nadine Leevand Balezin, 9 years, Estonia

Nadine Leevand Balezin, 9 yrs, Estonia, Kids art contest

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2013 Kids Art Contest – Ages 10-12:

1st Winner: Beata Lastovko, 10 years, Estonia

1st winner, Beata Lastovko, age 10, Estonia, kids art contest

2nd Winner: Jelizaveta Jerina, 11 years, Estonia

2nd winner - jerina jelizaveta, 11 yrs, Estonia, kids art contest,

3rd Winner: Jekaterina Poljakova, 10 years, Estonia

3rd winner- jekaterina poljakova, 10 yrs, Estonia, kids art contest,

Honorable Mention:

Alisa Jerina, 13 years, Estonia (Had to include this beautiful image, even though Alisa is 13)

alisa jerina, 13 yrs, Estonia, kids art contest,

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2013 Kids Art Contest – Best Black and White

Valentinas Skalandis, 11 years, Kaunas Art, Lithuania

Skalandis Valentinas, 11 yrs, Lithuania, kids art contest,

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2013 Kids Art Contest – Best 3D

Sami, 11 years, USA

Sami, 11 yrs, USA, best 3d art, kids art contest

01/11/14

Winners 2013 Backyard Frogs Contest

In Jersey City backyards, it’s unlikely you’d find any frogs, but it’s wonderful to know that frog lovers all over DO!

The Winners of the 2013 Backyard Frogs Photography Contest.

1st Place: Wes Deyton, (Wesrule2601, Flickr) with this peeper.

1st winner - wesrule2601 - peeper frog

2nd Place: Olivia Brand

2nd place winner - Olivia Brand with frog

3rd Place: Koover Schmidt

3rd winner - Koover Schmidt with frog

Honorable Mention: Wes Deyton, (Wesrule2601, Flickr)

Honoable Mention - Wesrule2601 frog

01/11/14

Winners 2013 Frogs in the Wild Photography Contest

Thank you to all the frog lovers out there, who celebrate amphibians by photographing them so we can all share your discoveries.

Announcing the Winners of the 2013 Frogs in the Wild contest:

1st Place: Sara Viernum, The Wandering Herpetologist with this Gray Treefrog (Hyla versicolor) from near Montello, Wisconsin.

1st winner - Sara Viernum, grey tree frog

2nd Place: Paul, with his “resting frog” image.

2nd winner - Paul - resting frog

3rd Place: Geoffrey Giller with his “wood frog.”

3rd winner - Geoff - wood frog

Honorable Mention: Angie Schwartz

Honorable Mention - Angie Schwartz

11/3/13

2013 Kids Art Contest Hosted by Frogs Are Green

Calling All Kids ages 3-12! – The 4th annual 2013 Frogs Are Green Art Contest

Contests officially opened on July 20th, 2013.

Kids art contest 2013
Last year we received over 260 entries from kids around the world, and the year before over 500! As always, we are so impressed by kids’ creativity and imagination and the variety of ways they express themselves: in crayon, watercolor, colored pencil, clay, 3D sculptures, dioramas, murals, mosaics, and mixed media.

We will award winners based on age in these age groups: 3-6, 7-9, 10-12. We also added a few new categories last year, Best 3D, Most Unusual Artwork, best Environmental, and this may expand depending on what we receive. The 1st place winners will receive a Frogs Are Green Poster of their choice from our store. All kids receive a certificate via download on our site.

Our 2013 campaign to help frogs! As part of the campaign we’re excited to announce the 4th FROGS ARE GREEN art contest for kids.

Contest theme:

How Will YOU Help Save Frogs and Amphibians!

Your artwork can be about frogs/amphibians and how you (or all of us) can help them.

Deadline for submissions is December 15, 2013 and the winners will be announced January 21, 2014. The winners will be featured in a post.

We’re looking for drawings, paintings, sculpture, collage, or whatever format helps you express yourself.

This year we have a new contest area using Flickr, where you can enter yourself.

There are three different group pools, so be sure to enter your photo/artwork into the right group pool.

Frogs Are Green 2013 Kids Art Contest

For the Kids’ Art Contest, you must add a caption, with your Name, Age, and Country (and a caption if you like) or your submission will not be added.

Please print out the attached flyer to post in your neighborhood schools.

We can’t wait to see your artwork!

06/7/13

Hops for Habitat in Montauk – Open Call for Artists

OPEN CALL FOR ARTISTS! Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County (CCE) has been actively involved in the protection and restoration of local eelgrass meadows that are an important habitat for many biologically and economically important species of finfish and shellfish.

To help raise community awareness, they are seeking artist responses to this issue and would like to see works inspired by underwater habitat reflecting the value of our local marine environment during our “Hops for Habitat” art show and sale in Montauk Brewing Company’s Tasting Room from June 28 through July 31, 2013.

Deadline for submissions is June 15.

Please visit www.marinemeadows.com or contact Kimberly Barbour at kp237@cornell.edu for submission information.

hops for habitat art and awareness in montauk