Karen Phillips, a 6th grader at Sacajawea Middle School, has won the 2011 Children’s Category for T-shirt Design (Ages 13 and under) with her design named ‘Pull Along Sweet Peas’. Karen was inspired by things planted in wagons, and she also thought that since kids like wagons, it would make a good children’s T-shirt. Karen has won the state competition for the Smokey the Bear poster contest two years in a row. When she is not busy winning art contests she also enjoys riding horses and playing soccer. When she grows up Karen would like to be a wildlife biologist, a marine biologist, or an archeologist. She is from Elko, Nevada, and moved to Bozeman at the age of two.

Nikki Erickson, a freelance graphic designer, has won the 2011 Adult Category for T-shirtDesign (ages 14 and older) with her design named ‘Sweet Pea Stacked’. Nikki is from Roswell, New Mexico, and graduated with her Bachelor’s in Fine Arts with an emphasis in Graphic Design from Eastern New Mexico University. She enjoys designing in Photoshop, but also designs letter-pressed custom invitations. Nikki was inspired by typography and wanted to create a design that was simple and clean. Nikki moved to Bozeman when her fiancé (now husband) Boyd was going to school at MSU. In Bozeman, she worked as a designer for the Chronicle and played the clarinet for the Bozeman Municipal Band. Nikki and Boyd have recently re-located to Phoenix, Arizona to pursue new opportunities. They are expecting a baby in mid-June, and are looking forward to the new addition to their family!

Category 2 (ages 14+)Grand Prize, 1st Place
Nikki Erickson
Bozeman, Montana
‘Sweet Pea Stacked’

2nd Place
Sarah Sutton
Bozeman, Montana

3rd Place
Mary Beil
Fort Shaw, Montana

Look for the contest announcement in February of next year, and enter to win the 2012 SweetPea T-shirt design contests!

ABOUT SWEET PEA FESTIVAL:
The Sweet Pea Festival is a three-day festival of the arts, held in Bozeman, Montana since 1978. The event includes everything from dynamic music to children’s activities to dance lessons. Sweet Pea is committed to its mission statement of “promoting and cultivating the arts.”

Over 1,500 volunteers run and organize this annual event, a testament to the community’s desire for its ongoing success. All the money raised above what is needed to operate the Festival is given back to the community in the form of grants for the arts, art education, and special projects in the Bozeman area.