Writtle College Art and Design student Samantha Humphreys has been named a finalist in a competition to find work to represent the title of Mark Owen’s new solo album.
Sam, who will be starting the third year of BA Contemporary Art & Design in September, submitted a piece of work called "All The Time..." and was named a finalist. She will receive $650 and will see her work featured across Mark's official online social channels.
She said: "To be selected as a runner up is very exciting for me, not only as an artist but as a fan of Mark Owen for many years."
Sam, from Bocking in Essex, said of her entry: “For the majority of us, a satisfied life consists of constant deadlines, constraints, rules, boundaries and a general acceptance that life sometimes isn't fair. However we choose to live our lives, we must take time to breathe and appreciate what we have and focus on the positive. We must teach this to our children. I was inspired by a quote I was given on a 21st birthday card, in 1993: ‘As you walk through the garden of life, don't forget to stop and smell the roses.’ I have since lived by that advice.”
Commending Sam for her work, Mark said on the website: "We share the same birth year I think I got the same card...Different worlds coming together..."
Sam’s win came after Mark put out a call to ‘painters, illustrators, photographers, animators, graphic designers and cultural connoisseurs’ on the Talenthouse website. He invited people to submit work taking inspiration from the title of his new solo album, 'The Art of Doing Nothing'. He said the whole record had been a collaborative process and wanted this to continue by inviting people to join in and help him present this concept as a visual.
Pryle Behrman, Writtle College’s Art and Design course manager, congratulated Sam, saying: “To gain such praise from Mark Owen is a great professional achievement for Sam. This award reflects the impressive work that Sam has produced and is another example of our students beginning to win recognition outside of the College even before they have completed their studies with us.”
More information on the Art and Design degree at Writtle College is available at www.writtle.ac.uk