red_satin_doll

norestforthewickednomineebuttonbyangelus2hot

The nomination period for Round 11 of the

wicked_awards is OPEN through August 1st - and I know this because a dear, precious little bird informed me that she had nominated two of my artworks: Prodigal Daughter in "Under Your Spell (Best Banner)" and "Guess Who? (Let a Smile be Your Umbrella - Vamp Willow)" icon from Round 2 of

btvsats20in20 in "Something to Sing About" (Best Icon)!

And someone else (I know not who) nominated my poster** for

clockwork_hart1's fic "Conclusive Etymology of a Summers" in the Banner category!

WOW! and THANK YOU!

I'll let my first benefactor reveal themselves publicly only if they wish, but I know - and I like knowing. In the second case, I have a short-list of suspects but nothing definitive, so my gratitude rides a warm embrace through the air to Whomever-You-May-Be.

I'm just - WOW. I never expected this. In the art categories? SERIOUSLY?

Two years ago if anyone had told me I'd be nominated in any awards for fanart, not meta or even fiction category, my reaction would have looked something like this:

Then like this:

And then asked what the real punchline was. Because I was going to be all writerly and, you know, write meta and stuff. My sweetie is/was the "visual artist" as a painter and sculptor; that's her territory, not mine. She's the "artist" in the family. Or that was the idea anyway. Making fanart wasn't even on my radar. (I hadn't even made a single icon since I'd wandered away from Moulin Rouge fandom a few years ago.) So this feels strange and a little surreal, in the best possible way.

It's also sweet because the nominations are coming from people whose work I respect and admire so much, in a fandom filled with amazing artists; (and because RL has been a bit on the sucky side lately. 'nuff said.) This is just a lovely surprise all around. THANK YOU again to the souls who nominated me and to everyone here who has welcomed me so warmly and openly, and supported me with friendship, encouragement, advice and tutoring.

These are happy tears:

REALLY.

An extra-special thank you to kwritten, whose icons I so admire for their layered delicacy, for mentioning one day, off-handedly that she used ipiccy and had I ever heard of it? No I had not - but my work took a huge leap forward when I started playing with it. I know gimp and PS are more sophisticated and I will end up using one or the other no doubt, but ipiccy is free, user-friendly and similar enough to programs I've used before to transition away from Photobucket.

****

Three things I love about the wicked_awards (among many many things):

1) They have categories in Art, Music Video AND in Fiction. This is the only award I know of in this fandom that does.

2) The winners are decided by judges (the "Inner Workings" post is a great read, check it out) rather than popular vote. Not to diss one or the other but there is definitely room for both types.

3) Moderators

angelus2hot and

spankedbyspike are all-around wonderful human being and ever gracious. (Which has been true of every admin and mod I've encountered since coming to this fandom and to LJ, to be honest. You folks are a rare breed and deserve many kudos for your work.)

The nomination period ENDS AUGUST ~~1st~~ 25th - and I'm noticing a lot of empty spaces on the Nominee list. Remember that there is no limit to the nominations they accept in any category (unless it gets ridiculous, knowwhatimean?), ~~a person can be nom'd up to twice in any category~~ writers can only be nomm'd once per category, visual artists/vidders can be nomm'd twice per category *** (not including collaborative work) and DID I MENTION THE NOMINATION PERIOD ENDS SOON AND LOTS OF EMPTY SPACES ON THE LIST? You know what to do, Gentle Reader - make somebody happy - just make sure you real the Rules and Past Winners list first. If you're not certain, just ask the always helpful mods!

Along those lines, the mods not only welcome but encourage self-nomination. I did that last year with my Ted meta, which felt a little embarrassing at first but I got a pretty Runner-Up banner, and a few people saw my meta who might not have otherwise. Aside from the kudos and encouragement this is the point: to give people a chance to see, watch and read something that mightn't have crossed their paths otherwise. Sharing is Caring!

** I know "banner" is used for just about everything that ain't nailed down when it comes to fanart, but I like the term "poster". PS: the Etymology poster I swore I would always love instead of just seeing the flaws ten years down the road? Two months later, I'm already seeing the flaws and what I woulda/coulda/shoulda have done better. Durn it.

***ETA:

angelus2hot gently corrected my errors re: nominating period and number of noms per category: a masterclass in graciousness, that's what I'm talking about.