142 pieces of art, three judges, one very long day

On Saturday, September 19, the meeting room tables disappeared under 142 pieces of art: drawings and paintings, clay animals, collages and comics, from 118 artists ages 5 to 13. It's the biggest contest the library has ever had.

Our judges this year were Rosa Delgado, the art teacher at Harlow Elementary; Martin Pike, who painted half the shop signs on Main Street before he retired; and Dana Whitcomb, our children's librarian. They looked at every piece within its age group, and they read every artist statement before deciding anything.

"We weren't looking for the neatest work. We were looking for the piece that made us stop and say, oh, I didn't expect that." — Rosa Delgado

A few things the judges noticed: the comics were funnier than ever (thank you, Comic Jam), there were at least six dogs and four dinosaurs, and one giraffe needed three sheets of paper taped together because her neck kept going.

Ribbon winners will be announced in two weeks, but here's the most important part: every entry goes on the wall at the show, and every artist gets a certificate at Opening Night on November 6.