2017
Graceful Envelope Contest Winners
The Graceful Envelope Contest, sponsored by the National Association of Letter Carriers and the Washington Calligraphers Guild, congratulates this year's winning artists. Judges selected 11 Winners (with one designated Best in Show) and gave another 11 the distinction Honorable Mention in the contest’s adult division. Judges also selected student winners in three grade divisions.
The 2017 theme, "Pushing the Envelope," challenged artists to create an envelope that promotes the exchange of letters and/or "pushes the envelope" artistically. Winners were chosen based on hand lettering, creative interpretation of the theme
and effective use of color and design, including incorporation of postage stamp(s).
The 23rd annual Graceful Envelope Contest was juried by professional calligraphers Sammy Little, whose clients include the U.S. Capitol and the Supreme Court, Mary Lou O'Brian, owner of Special Awards calligraphy studio, and National Association of Letter Carriers graphic artist Michael Shea.
| Winners on Exhibit |
| The 2017
adult division Winner and Honorable Mention envelopes will be on display in the lobby of the National
Association of Letter Carriers headquarters building, 100 Indiana
Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20001 beginning in July 2017 for a year. Open to the
public free of charge Monday through Friday (except holidays), 8-6 Eastern time, the building is located near Union Station
and the U.S. Capitol, at the intersection of First and C Streets NW (map). For more information about the
exhibit, call 202-662-2851 or email. |
| The
contest was created in 1995 by the Smithsonian Institution's National
Postal Museum, which administered it until delegating responsibility
to the Washington Calligraphers Guild in 2001 (joined in 2003 by the National Association of Letter Carriers). In
addition to promoting the art of calligraphy, the Graceful Envelope
Contest celebrates the role of letters in binding people together
and serves as a reminder that the people who deliver the mail
are career government employees who take pride in their work and
care about the communities they serve. |
|
Past
winners: |
|
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012
2011
2010
2009
2008
2007
2006
2005
2004
2003
2002
2001
2016 Call for Entries
 No longer available:
The Fall 2014 Scripsit, devoted to the Graceful Envelope Contest, features color reproductions of 141 selected winning envelopes from 2009 through 2014.
> List of artists in this issue
 Spring 2009 Scripsit featuring full-color reproductions of 64 selected envelopes from the 2006, 2007 and 2008 Graceful Envelope contests.
Artists in this issue
> How to purchase
 No longer available:
Fall 2005 Scripsit featuring full-color reproductions of 65 selected envelopes from the 2003, 2004 and 2005 Graceful Envelope contests.
List of artists represented
 No longer available:
Dec. 2002 Scripsit featuring
full-color reproductions of 60 of the winning envelopes
from 1995 through 2002.
List of artists represented
|
Congratulations
to the following winners
of the 2017 Graceful Envelope Contest! Click links to view the envelopes on Flickr.
Theme: Pushing the Envelope
ADULT DIVISION
Adult Winners:
IMAGES of ADULT WINNING ENVELOPES
BEST IN SHOW:
Christy Robb — Morning Sun, IA
WINNERS:
Nancy Anderson — Maple Valley, WA
Tori Bell — Tacoma, WA
Zarabeth Duell — Lincoln, VT
Julie Gray — Sandia Park, NM
Claire Griffin — Franklin, MA
Margaret Long — Curtis, WA
Debbie Ruggles — Sykesville, MD
Cynthia Schubert — Portland, OR
Hilary Verni — Brooklyn, NY
Hannah C. Weston — Lancaster, PA
Adult Honorable Mentions:
IMAGES of HONORABLE MENTION ENVELOPES
Jane Andrle Gillette — Port Aransas, TX
Kathy Barker — Bellevue, WA
Albrecht Clauss — Bremen, Germany
Rowena F. Finn — Virginia Beach, VA
Charity Goodwin — Albany, MO
Carol Meetze-Moates — Julian, NC
Elizabeth Nuttle — Brooklandville, MD
Patricia O’Donnell — Fort Bragg, CA
E. L. Sizemore — Carson City, NV
Brigitte Stermann — Vancouver, BC, Canada
S. Utermann — Hamburg, Germany
Student Winners:
Grades 9-12 WINNING ENVELOPES
Kevin Chiang Orlando, FL
Anaelle Ezekial Valley Village, CA
Gabriella Isaac Pine Springs, MN
Yael Liberman Valley Village, CA
Lucy Long Toronto, ON, Canada
Noah Matsri Tarzana, CA
Jasmine Nasseri Tarzana, CA
Noa Neim Valley Village, CA
Danya Parker Los Angeles, CA
Rivka Schusterman Glendale, CA
Leah Raoufpour Los Angeles, CA
Kiara Van Rooyen Gauteng, South Africa
Syeda Ullah Monterey Park, CA
Menucha Winchell Valley Village, CA
Heather Woleslagel Hutchinson, KS
Grades 5-8 WINNING ENVELOPES
Dora Doğru — Istanbul, Turkey
Cristen Gadicho — Kapolei, HI
Nina Khmelyova — Smolensk, Russia
Alyssa Liao — Stanford, CA
Abigail Lim — Cupertino, CA
Jerry Liu — Markham, ON, Canada
Mahati Sanjay Mestri — Maharashtra, India
Simona Pastor — Katy, TX
Laura Popova — Sacramento, CA
Morgan Richenberger — Morning Sun, IA
Morgan Schoch — Berlin, MD
Réka Sipos — Istanbul, Turkey
Emma Sun — Potomac, MD
Keetyn Townsley — Morning Sun, IA
Miya Walker — Rocklin, CA
Charlotte Werth — Grand Ledge, MI
Dallas Wilkins — Jersey City, NJ
Stephanie Yang — Potomac, MD
Abigail Zhang — Potomac, MD
Lily Zhou — Markham, ON, Canada
Grades 1-4 WINNING ENVELOPES
Lam Ying Hong Gabriel — Wan Chai, Hong Kong
Madeleine Hu — Markham, ON, Canada
Tina Tang Jin — Markham, ON, Canada
Rachel Kovac — Morgantown, WV
Chaeli JC Liu — Markham, ON, Canada
Adriana Nadong — Livonia, MI
Lucy Nicol — Dublin, OH
Hilaire Qian — Markham, ON, Canada
Ian Roylance Rinker — Charlotte, NC
Yuhan Sun — Potomac, MD
Isha Tangri — Sunnyvale, CA
Lok King Tin — Kowloon, Hong Kong
Julia Whitman — St. Louis, MO
Andy Yuan — Markham, ON, Canada
Jacqueline Liu Jiaqi — Wan Chai, Hong Kong
Graceful Envelope logo by Gini Ogle
~
Washington Calligraphers
Guild home page ~ About
the Guild ~
~ Meetings, Classes & Workshops ~
Scripsit, the WCG journal ~
~ How to become a member ~
Freelance calligraphers in the DC area ~
~ Links to related websites ~
~ Zapf fund to further calligraphy education ~