• Download the Artist Pack (863kb PDF) or just the Owl templates (172kb PDF)
  • Complete the Owl templates (front and back) with your design/s and your name and contact details.
  • Scan your Owl designs and save them with your name and design number, ie Jo Bloggs 1 front, Jo Bloggs 1 back, Jo Bloggs 2 front, etc.
  • Complete online Artist Submission form on this page, which includes the facility to upload your designs from your computer.
  • Click the SEND button.  (NB. If you do not receive an automatic thank you for your submission, please check you have completed every section of the form and re-send.)
  • Designs will be added to the Owl Artists Portfolio for Owl sponsors to select their favourite design/artist. Depending on submission numbers, designs may have to be shortlisted. Not all designs or artists may be chosen to decorate an owl.
  • If selected by a sponsor, you will be informed by the Organisers, given £50 towards materials and a sculpture will be allocated for collection.
  • You then work together with the sponsor confirm the final design.
  • Final design to be emailed to artists@minervasowls.org for approval before decoration takes place.
  • Deadline for delivering decorated owls is 1st June.

ARTISTS’ ONLINE APPLICATION FORM

Owl Designs to be submitted by 5th March 2018

Address*

Painting location
Please indicate whether you will work on your Owl in your private studio/home or if you would be prepared to work in a public space in Bath, should it become available.

Sponsor designs
Would you be interested in producing a sculpture designed to a commercial sponsor’s specification? Your design may inspire a sponsor to choose you as their artist but they may wish their owl to reflect their business in some way or they have a design idea they would like to develop with a professional artist. Please indicate if you would be happy to work with a sponsor to a specific commission brief.

Timescale
Are you able to work on your sculpture between February and May 2018?

Owl preening
Please indicate whether you will be available to make any necessary touch-ups to the sculpture ahead of the auction preview weekend. Touch-ups will need to be made between 10th September and 1st October 2018 (If no, a member of the project team will do this for you)

Recording process
Please indicate if you are able to produce imagery for use on our website, social media, and in marketing materials

If 'Other’ state what:

School owlets
Please indicate if you would you be interested in working with a school, education or community group to help them create their owlet design and if you are happy for us to provide your contact details to schools or groups looking to engage with a creative practitioner? N.B. The smaller owlets will not be sold at auction and will be returned to the schools after the event, so payment terms would need to be arranged directly with the school or community group.

Artist name
(as it would appear on the owl plaque if your design is chosen (limited to 40 characters, including spaces and punctuation)

Proposed name for your owl
(as it would appear on the owl plaque if your design is chosen (limited to 40 characters, including spaces and punctuation)

Your artistic experience
Please give brief details of relevant experience.

Your inspiration
Please give a description of your owl design. This may be used on the website and in other appropriate promotional materials to give information about the inspiration for your design.

Characters: 0/1500

Your designs (uploads)
Your Owl design submissions must be of a high quality for display purposes and either in jpeg or PDF format. There are printable templates here (172kb PDF). Images/scans should not be larger than 6Mb. If you are unable to reduce the size of your jpeg or PDF to make your email less than 6MB, please send each design submission in a separate email with your application form attached to each email. Please also attach up to 4 examples of your artwork, ideally in the style you plan to use for your owl design.

Please note that sponsors select their artist and design from a pre-selected shortlist of submitted owl designs, so not all artist applications will be chosen to decorate an owl.


By checking this acceptance, I agree to all of the terms and conditions. I certify that all statements made in this application are true to the best of my knowledge. I acknowledge that Minerva’s Owls of Bath CIC is not liable for damage or loss of materials submitted. If you have any questions about these terms and conditions please contact Alice Ellis at artists@minervasowls.org

Important: Please be patient after clicking the SEND button – if you've attached several files it may take a few minutes to upload everything to the web server (and we've got an issue with the spinning feedback icon/messages not showing up after you click send). If you do not receive an automatic thank-you email for your submission, or do not get redirected to our thank-you page, please scroll up and check you have completed every section of the form (look for any red messages) and click 'Send' again.

My pet owl will soon turn 180.
He’s not old, he just has a bad neck. (Hoot!)

A group of owls is called a parliament.
(Of course, most owls are solitary!)

There are around 200 species of owl.
The largest is Blakiston’s fish owl (Japan, China, Siberia)

Little Owls were introduced into Britain from Europe during the late 1880s to control garden pests.
There are thought to be 5,700 pairs in the UK.

The Little Owl has a large global range and is found in 84 countries (much of Europe, Asia east to Korea, North Africa, and the Middle East).

A Little Owl with an olive branch appeared on a Greek silver tetradrachm coin from 500 BC and a 5th Century BC bronze statue of the Greek goddess of wisdom, Athena, shows her holding a Little Owl.

In 2008, a herd of 100 King Bladud’s Pigs descended on Bath to take part in one of the UK’s first public art sculpture trails.

Owls do not have spherical eyes, they have tube eyes (providing better depth perception and allowing them to see prey from great distances. Their close vision is not as clear.)

You can find Little Owls in a range of habitats including quarries, villages, orchards, parkland, liveries and on lowland farmland. They prefer semi-open habitat and avoid woodland. Read Emily’s Little Owl Spotter’s Guide here.

In 2008 the King Bladud’s Pigs auction raised over £200,000 for charity and 16,000 pig fans came to say their ‘final farewells’.

The Little Owl is one of the smallest owls. It was introduced to Britain from Europe in the 1880s to help control garden pests and can be found living in tree hollows around the Bath area.

Many owls have asymmetrical ears that vary in size and are at different heights on their heads. This allows them to better pinpoint where their prey is.

Headline sponsor – SouthGate Bath

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