The Challenge:

Create a work of art using ONLY the materials in a Mystery Build Kit. Upload photos and/or videos of what you make to compete for cash prizes. The theme for this year's contest is
"Re-Invent a Work of Art"
Submission Deadline 10/20/13

The Twist:

You don't know what's inside the kit! While the specific materials will be unknown to you at the time of purchase, you can expect to find some common sculpting materials like wood, clay, metal, fiber, and plenty more!
All Mystery Build Kits contain the same materials.

The Payoff:

Fortune and Fame. Judges and voters will select the winners of $15,000 in cash awards! Winning artists get nationwide exposure on our website!

Participate in the Challenge!

Submissions due October 20th, 2013

Past Mystery Builders have created some extraordinary works of art. Check out our Art Gallery to see all the entries from our last contest. Visit our Hall of Fame to see past Mystery Build Art Contest winners.

What Can You Make With This?

We're dedicated to inspiring and rewarding creative thinking through a series of artistic challenges. The Mystery Build Art Contest is about being resourceful and inventive. You'll exercise problem-solving skills to use materials in surprising ways, while creating a work of art and competing against other artists nationwide.
The Theme: "Re-Invent a Work of Art"
You can interpret the contest's theme any way you wish. Perhaps a re-creation of a famous painting in the form of a sculpture, or a new perspective or hidden angle on a familiar work of art. Your entry should not be a replica but a re-interpretation, continuation, or unique version of the original artwork.
Contest Submission Deadline: 10/20/2013. Enter individually or as a team, as many times as you want.

"I like the idea of competing against other creators, knowing that the playing field was level, as we all had the same materials and guidelines to follow. The whole time I felt like a kid playing, trying to use materials that at first glance have no business being together. It really was a fun experience and I would highly recommend anyone, artist or not, to try it out." - Pete Sack

When you buy a Mystery Build Kit you get access to 7 Tips and Tricks videos to help you get the most out of your materials. We'll reveal a couple of the Mystery Build ingredients here, to get your wheels turning.

Advice From Chuck Close

Wisdom and words-to-live-by about life, art, and overcoming adversity. "You don't have to reinvent the wheel every day. Today you will do what you did yesterday and tomorrow you will do what you did today. Eventually you will get somewhere." Watch the video on CBS

Monet's Father disapproved of his painting. He wanted him to be a grocer.

Micro-sculptor Willard Wigan creates artwork so small that he once inhaled one by accident.

Quickly browse through 35,000 years of art history highlights, from cave paintings to modern day sculpture.
Be patient while it loads, there's a lot of images here.

Featured Artist - Amy Kollar Anderson

With my paintings, I create narratives about obsession, duality and containment to explore the differences between being in-and-out of control. Containment is revealed through locations with physical barriers, but it can also be addressed through the emotional or psychological condition of the individuals. Obsession can be seen in the multitude of details, or in the characters that are fixated with an object or idea. I attempt to find a balance between contrasting concepts, such as control vs. chaos, attraction vs. repulsion, etc.

I find these worlds through an oblique path, beginning with an idea and then wandering my way into the finished piece through multiple layers of color and patterns. Each layer adds to the complexity of the puzzle, and in turn reveals another part of the puzzle differently, affecting the final piece. This kind of revelation and exploration takes time, often with changes in composition and color, but the process uncovers a more complex and satisfying narrative than first glimpsed in that original idea.

I enjoy the process of creating a completely new environment in each painting, complete with new rules about interactions and colors. The aesthetic involves a contrast of overlapping vintage and modern design elements and untraditional paint choices, such as metallic, fluorescent and interference colors. This subtle psychedelic presentation misdirects the viewer from immediately focusing on the issues presented, therefore adding to the harmony and tension in the narrative.

Amy's website          Amy's blog          Amy's videos

The Mystery Build Art Contest was created by two professional artists as a way to inspire creative thinking and artistic exploration. Find out who we are and why we do what we do.

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