Daily Sitka Sentinel

Sitka’s Best, Worst, Patriotic Virus Masks

By GARLAND KENNEDY
Sentinel Staff Writer

When he proposed having a face mask contest last month, Jeff Budd said, he suggested it “for the fun of it, to share with others, and to encourage wearing your mask in public.”

By 5 p.m. May 1, photos of more than 30 creative and entertaining entries had been submitted, in six categories.

Each of the six winners will receive a gift certificate to a local business of their choice.

The submissions, in the form of color photos of the masks, were forwarded to the three judges without the names of the contestants attached. Entries were widely varied. They included a Tlingit button design; one made of papier mache; one made of real fish skin.

The contest was organized by Jeff Budd and sponsored by the Daily Sitka Sentinel.

“There were no losers in this contest,” said Sentinel city editor Sandy Poulson, “because every entry showed so much imagination and craftmanship that every one was a winner in some respect.”

The judges agreed, but faced with the task of choosing the best six, chose the mask by Marcia Strand as Best Black and White, and Penny Lehmann for Most Original. Rebecca Brown won the Best Color Mask category, Audrey Curran made the Most Patriotic, Karyn Craft won for the Funniest Mask, and Sara Yakymovich and friends won ‘Worst,’ a category that drew a host of outlandish designs.

The patriotic category produced red, white, and blue masks. The “best” in the category went to a mask made of real salmon skin. The somewhat comical category of “worst” mask went to a bag with a face drawn on it.

Winners in the (hopefully-not-annual) Greater Sitka Face Mask Design Contest are pictured. Top, from left, are honorable mention, Birdie Curran with masked bunny, Petal; honorable mention, Steel Curran; best black and white face mask, Marcia Strand; and best color face mask Rebecca Brown. Bottom, from left, Best American old school/patriotic face mask, Audrey Curran; most original face mask, Penny Lehmann;  worst face mask, Sara Yakymovich and friends; funniest Caryn Kraft. (Photos provided to the Sentinel)

“It was good-bad,” Budd said.

Budd has been involved in the Sitkan arts community for many years, including the widely popular Wearable Arts contest and Evening Grinds. He said that the idea for the face mask contest derived from a tattoo contest held in 2012 and 2013.

With a laugh, Budd said that the “‘worst” moniker for the tattoo contest went to a man with a cup of coffee on his arm.

“When I was working for the Arts Council, Mr. (John) Stein was on the board and said ‘Why don’t we do a tattoo contest?’ And we did it. We did it a couple of years in a row and I went back (for the mask contest) and looked at the categories and guidelines and I took that,” Budd said.

Stein, too, has been involved in the Sitkan arts community for decades. He said in an interview that “there’s quite a cohort of mask makers in town now for people to use, pumping masks out. And I think that is a good thing.”

Stein hoped that Sitkans would take the opportunity to be creative.

“Just to release some of the creativity that is boxed in with the sequestering, so giving adults and kids a chance to be creative,” he said. “Sitka is an art-y town… and I think for being here as an outpost on the outer coasts of the Pacific, we do pretty well.”

Budd, Stein and Deborah Yearwood were the judges.

Thinking back to some of the more creative masks being worn, Budd said, “you could tell they were smiling.”

Budd said “the mission of the thing was to have fun, give you something to do, and also advocate for wearing your mask.”

With the apparent success of the mask contest, Budd said, he will consider additional contest ideas moving forward.