....and the winner is:

Hello ShirtPrizers:

We have a winner, and American Idol’s Ryan Secrest will be stopping by to make the announcement soon, but first a word from our sponsors, REVUE Magazine and Citizen Shirt.

Here’s the word: Thanks.

We appreciate that you took time to vote and to acknowledge the work of these four artists and all the other artists who entered Shirtprize. Plus, thanks to the bodies who modeled, bedazzled and art-ified the shirts during the finals voting.

Now, back to Ryan Secrest and the announcement of the winner, which we’ll get to, right after this word from Coca-Cola….

Okay, seriously, here’s the deal: Doves>Guns won Shirtprize. Artist Scott Gundersen’s peace-loving design nabbed 34.26% of the vote, edging out Amanda Zechar’s cupcake-loving robot, the Cupcakerator, which earned 30.56% of the vote. Aaron Strelecki’s Scream nabbed 27.30% of the votes and Davie Torres graffiti-inspired Got Soul got 7.88% percent of the votes. Congratulations to Scott and to all finalists. The last day of voting was wild, with about 800 votes pouring in, right up until 11:59 p.m. Well done!  Here's a press release. 

BODIES WANTED: We’re looking for 20 STDs (social transmitters of design) to model the winning shirt tomorrow at the ArtPrize final announcement. You can get a free t-shirt by meeting Chris Koens at the Biggby Coffee on Monroe Mall at 6:15 p.m. tomorrow (Thursday, Oct. 8, 2009). The first 20 peole who show up and ask Chris to be a body, get a shirt to wear at the ArtPrize announcement.

Thanks again to all of you Shirtprize people. You did Grand Rapids proud.

We’ll talk to you soon.

The Shirtprize Team

Finalist Davie Torres says "Yo!"

Davie Torres was born and raised in West Michigan. Growing up, he moved frequently which gave him the opportunity to see different areas of this great state. From small farm towns to the Big Little City of Grand Rapids, Davie has seen different peoples ideas of art and that has helped make him a well rounded person and artist. The piece "Got Soul" came from his idea to "add some flavor" to the competition. Also to give people something that they would wear and truly appreciate. Not just wear because their friend designed it. Graffiti IS an art form but sadly is seen as a crime and vandalism. Through Shirt Prize, the only crime in his piece is not rockin' his shirt! 

Meet finalist Aaron Strelecki

Aaron Strelecki, Is a 17 year old high school student who attends Jenison High School. He has lived in Michigan his whole life.  He spends most of his time just hanging out with friends, and having a good time.  His shirt "Scream", was made in an attempt to design a shirt that he thought people would like and actually want to wear. There is no secret or meaning behind the shirt, just that it would look cool on a cotton canvas!

Meet Shirtprize finalist Scott Gundersen

Scott Gundersen, a resident of a lively southeast Grand Rapids neighborhood, earned his BFA in Art Education from Western Michigan University in 2002. For seven years, as a full-time high school art instructor, he has been using his knowledge of and passion for art to inspire the next generation. In that time, he has had the opportunity to teach over 2000 students. Scott's artwork is held in many private collections around the city and he is a top 50 finisher in this years ArtPrize, with his work currently on display at San Chez Bistro. When not teaching or creating, Scott loves to read, bike, and travel the world with is new wife, Jeanne.

Nick Zyskowski is a fresman at Central Michigan University.

About the Design:
The design doves>guns was birthed from a collaboration between a teacher and a student in the fall of 2008. After a lesson and discussion on the work of the popular street artist, BANKSY had ended in Scott Gundersen's high school art classroom, Nick Zyskowski a student and Gundersen began a brainstorming ideas of their own, which they began screen printing for their friends and family. The doves>guns shirt was a big hit with sly yet serious social political message. The collaboration continued and a limited run of parody shirts followed, including "buffalos&bombs", "penguins&pistols", and "John McCain does the Robot", however nothing could match their early success of the doves>guns design. Their collaboration seemed to be all but over when shirtprize was announced. Can doves>guns make a comeback? Will the collaboration continue? Only time will tell.

Finalist Amanda Zechar says hello!

My name is Amanda Zechar and I'm a 23 year old lady who loves baking, biking, and theme parties.  The Cupcakerator is the mascot for my blog of the same name.  He's a fun-loving robot who dreams of opening a bakery one day so that he can reach everyone with his delicious treats. 

I really feel that my design should win.  It's all about having fun and not taking life too seriously.  That, and it would look mighty fine on a t-shirt.  If you love cute robots who bake cupcakes, do the right thing - Vote for The Cupcakerator!

Body Spots

Any bodies wanting to pick up shirts this morning can find us at Kava House in Eastown until 9:30 and at the Revue offices (Breton and Burton) After that until about noon.

More pickup locations gathering spots announced later.

Sent from my BlackBerry Smartphone provided by Alltel

Shirtprize bodies alert!

Going to be hanging out at Kava House tomorrow morning between 8:30 and 9:30 for any registered bodies that want to stop by and pick up a shirt! More events on the way.

Shirtprize featured on FOX 17

Emily chats with Shirtprize co-founder and REVUE publisher Brian Edwards about West Michigan's largest contest for artists who work on the cotton canvas.  

 


Check out Emily as she highlights Shirtprize finalists and talks about STDs with Shirtprize founders:

 

STDs ready to break out!

We've sent an email to our social transmitters of designs (STDs), who signed up to serve as a hosting body for the designs of the four bodies. Shirts are being printed as we speak, and we should begin distributing them tomorrow and Saturday.   Check back on the Blog for the next few days for updates. 

In the meantime, vote for the Shirtprize winner if you haven't already! It takes about a minute (not including the hours you'll spend looking at the amazing designs by the four finalists).  You can vote at the official Shirtprize Website.