4th Annual – Artwork & Poetry Contest – 2022
Snow Leopard, Guardian of the High Mountains
HONORABLE MENTION
Traditional Artwork
Adult – 18 & Over
Night on the Rocks
Artist – Pamela S. Conley
Medium: Oils
Realm Keeper
Artist – Elena Magana Alaman
Medium: Colored pencils on pastel mat
Mini Me
Artist – Mark Ray
Medium: Pastels on pastel mat
Determination
Artist – Amy Sparrow
Medium: Watercolors
Focus
Artist – Micheline Perreault Painter
Medium: Acrylics on canvas
Stormwatch
Artist – Debi Lockhurst
Medium: Acrylics on canvas
HONORABLE MENTION
Poetry
Adult – 18 & Over
Snow Leopard Guardian
by Sierra Laney
Snow Leopard guarding
Looking down the mountainside
Watching over us
The Velvet Queen
by Emma Lee
He thought it was just a photo of a bird on an outcrop.
It was months before he noticed a grey patch, an error?
A smudge on the lens? It was the same color
as the perch, but different texture, fur rather than rock.
Rounded ears, rosette markings, steady eyes
that lacked fear, that knew him not to be a threat,
but worthy of study in case he disrupted the natural order.
He’d known she could be there: had seen footprints,
scat, a kill, set camera traps to catch a mountain ghost
who’d remained a spirit. Her wide pads silencing
her steps, her tail a balance, preventing a skitter of stones
which might have given her away. He suspected he
was watched, but never knew how close this guardian
had got until, months later, he studied a printout of a photo
and she was watching him looking but not seeing her.
He thought it was just a photo of a bird on an outcrop.
It was months before he noticed a grey patch, an error?
A smudge on the lens? It was the same color
as the perch, but different texture, fur rather than rock.
Rounded ears, rosette markings, steady eyes
that lacked fear, that knew him not to be a threat,
but worthy of study in case he disrupted the natural order.
He’d known she could be there: had seen footprints,
scat, a kill, set camera traps to catch a mountain ghost
who’d remained a spirit. Her wide pads silencing
her steps, her tail a balance, preventing a skitter of stones
which might have given her away. He suspected he
was watched, but never knew how close this guardian
had got until, months later, he studied a printout of a photo
and she was watching him looking but not seeing her.
SPECIAL RECOGNITION
Traditional Artwork
Adult – 18 & Over
Cub in Charcoal I
Artist – Fiona Anderson
Medium: Charcoal on paper
Ghost of the Mountain
Artist – Cyndi Thompson
Media: Colored pencils with pastel background on drafting film
Cuddly Dreamer
Artist – Birgit Bührlé
Medium: Acrylics on canvas
Hide and Seek
Artist – Sandy Moser
Medium: Acrylics
Manju
Artist – Kateryna Bielikova
Medium: Acrylics on cardboard
Cub in Charcoal II
Artist – Fiona Anderson
Medium: Charcoal on paper
Guardian of the High Mountains
Artist – Kateryna Bielikova
Media: Pastels, watercolors, colored pencils, & liner on pastel paper
Evanescence
Artist – Kateryna Bielikova
Medium: Acrylics on canvas
