2019 Design Contest Winner

The 2019 winner of the annual T-Shirt Design Contest is Heather Chouinard of Edgecomb.

Heather’s design was selected from among 42 entries that were submitted by 40 artists, the largest number of artist participants to date for the annual Pumpkinfest T-shirt Design Contest. The judges were the Pumpkinfest volunteers who attended the June 20 Pumpkinfest planning meeting. The winning design won a $500 prize.

Heather Chouinard’s inspiration for the Pumpkinfest design was to create an image that appears as a crest or a seal, with muted and rich New England colors.

Heather grew up outside of Atlanta, Georgia and attended Savannah College of Art and Design where she received a BFA with a focus in metals and jewelry. Around that time, she met her now-husband, Dennis, who is originally from Maine. They lived in Florida for several years and relocated to Maine with their young son in 2016.

Heather regularly works with metalsmithing, painting, illustration, and sewing. One of her specialties is drawing detailed portraits of people and pets, and she completes a few commissioned portraits each year. In 2018 she created a line of colorful, hand painted wood jewelry that she sells online, at local festivals, and in several Maine shops.

Heather and her husband recently opened Midcoast Craft in Wiscasset. It is a craft gallery, working studio, and class space where she sells her handmade jewelry and teaches multimedia workshops. You also will find Dennis’ pottery and a curated selection of work from other artists in the gallery.

If you would like to keep up with Heather’s work and process, find her on Instagram at @chouinard_made, visit Midcoast Craft at 75 Main Street in Wiscasset, or go to Midcoastcraft.me.