While I was taking a few days off between Christmas and New Year's, some of you were busy sending in news you wanted to share with readers of this blog. I am more than happy to spread the word, so here's what's happening.

CWEnder Andy DeSoto wants to connect with neighbors on "Nextdoor.com," an online community forum for neighborhood news, services, opinions, etc. A May 12, 2012 article in the NY Times, "Meet your neighbors–if only online" explains how Nextdoor works. If it sounds appealing, sign up on the link in Andy's note below:

Former CWEnder Margaret Culver sent information about a printmaking competition for artists ages 18 to 29 sponsored by The National Society of Arts & Letters. Margaret called to say that the Saint Louis Chapter doesn't get enough applicants and she's hoping you'll know a young artist who would like to enter the competition. By the way, the Saint Louis Chapter of The National Society of Arts & Letters holds its meetings at the neighborhood's Saint Louis Woman's Club (see post here) on Lindell. Keep reading….

Chapter Awards:
 First Place $2,000 plus an expenses-paid trip to the National
Competition in Pittsburgh, PA, May 14-19, 2013; Second Place $1,000; and
Third Place $750. 

National Competition Winners receive awards of up to $15,000.

Competition
contestants must be between the ages of 18 and 29 years old as of May
18, 2013.  Applications must be received by mail no later than February 15, 2013.

The
2013 Printmaking Competition will consider the following techniques:
Relief Printmaking: woodcut, wood engraving, linoleum cut, relief
intaglio, collagraphy; Intaglio Printmaking: drypoint, engraving,
mezzotint, etching, aquatint, embossing; Screen Printmaking
(serigraphy); Computer Graphics, Monoprint, and Lithography.

Competition Instructions and Application Forms are available here.

For a full schedule of Competition Dates and Deadlines, click here.

For additional information, contact the Art Competition Chair, Barbara Martin Smith, at [email protected]. 

Meanwhile, neighbor Dana Romeis whose interior design firm Fibercations
worked on a project with Phil Durham
Architects and Chouteau Building Group is a finalist in the online
edition of Architectural Digest’s “Before and After Kitchen” contest.
Dana emailed: "We would love for you to vote for the home team. Click on
the following
link and then click on the St. Louis project to cast a vote.  You can
vote no more than once an hour and the voting is over January 15.  The
winner will have a feature story in an upcoming issue. Feel free to vote early and often through the week." 

Photo by Alise O'Brien

Former CWEnder (though she's here all the time) Mary Morgan sent information about a dinner and world premiere of Cafe Chanson to benefit the Upstream Theater at the Kranzberg Arts Center on Grand this Saturday (see below). Details on paperless post link here.

While Steve Neels is waiting to roll out his Arctic Cat (see post here), which you may remember from last January's somewhat measurable snow, he and his wife, Roberta, have spent some time at Bissinger's enjoying Decadent Chocolate Brownies. Steve says it's "…:) mmmmmmm!"
Photo courtesy of Steve Neels