This is the last challenge of the year, I hope we get lots of participants :)

Here in the northern hemisphere, we are having short days and long dark nights. It's nice to have the holiday lights to brighten up the darkness. But this challenge is for any kind of lights...sunlight, torchlight, firelight, holiday lights, nightlights. You choose the light and you choose any way you like to present it!

Everyone is welcome, any kind of medium: written word, music, photograph, hand painted or quilted, 2d, 3d, fractal...come join us to light up the end of the year!

Message edited on: 12/04/2005 19:38

Delightful idea! And handling light sources well is always a challenge. :)

I read this and my first reaction was "But, soft! What light through yonder window breaks?", but I think maybe I can do better than that. Great challenge subject.

Having typed the above quote I opened up Bryce and put in a wall and a window, placed a table in front of the window and them worked on getting the sun's rays to stream through said window.

When I came back to the image later this is what had happened.

All people who are owned by a cat will know the truism that if there is one spot of sun spilling onto the floor or table a cat will find it and soak it up.....quite regardless of what other important tasks he had been "helping" you with.

Message edited on: 12/07/2005 02:40

Ah yes...the delights of cat sun bathing. Very familiar to me. What a good start!

Absolutely! A round patch produces a round cat, and a square patch produces a square cat with legs and tail outstretched to catch every bit of warmth. Our solar collecters should be so efficient! Great kitty... nicely furred. :) Carolly

Message edited on: 12/08/2005 05:33

Oooo...lovely. Gives me a chill. In a good way.

Thanks Dianne! Yes, a chill can be a good thing too, but the chills I get here just come from the cold weather :-)

I love pics of the Aurora...am in the wrong place to ever see one for real.

I have seen it, but where I lived the colors were not so intense as far up north. Anyway, it's marvellous!!

That is lovely!

Thanks! Your name, hauksdottir sounds Icelandish to me, do you have your roots there?

I was hoping to find vikings, but my ancestors appear to be ranchers and horsebreeders who BOUGHT their critters. Most disappointing. Not a horse thief in the bunch. Some day I might go further back.

:-) Try harder!!

So beautiful!

Wow! Just.... w.o.w.

Lovely. :) This is turning into a really beautiful challenge.

That is so much fun! Halos or no, I love your lit up holly. :)

Have to agree, that is super.

Well, I surely hope that Santa hits THAT area last! Poor Rudolph will disappear completely in a haze of blinking lights and Santa will get so lost that it will be months before he emerges. Maybe even years. :( Of course, being reindeer, they might just eat their way clear through! ;^) Carolly

Ok everyone... last couple days of the year.. and of the challenge. Voting to start on Thursday Night/Friday Morning. Good luck everyone !!

Attached Link: http://www.renderosity.com/viewed.ez?galleryid=1123353&Start=1&Artist=hauksdottir&ByArtist=Yes

Message edited on: 12/29/2005 06:22

I like it. :)

Those are certainly warm-hearted snowmen! :) Like candalaria but with electric lights inside? With a bit of fiberglass armature and some white plastic bags, those wouldn't be too hard to make. Wait... did dialyn's disappear? I thought I remembered something warm in color above mine??? How can I comment when it is gone? Carolly

I removed mine. When I look at it in the cold light of morning, it was all wrong...the light was coming from the wrong direction and didn't send the message I was trying to express. We have such wonderful submissions this time, I'm too embarressed to leave mine up. Great job, everyone...it's going to be another one that is tough to vote on. Love the snow people...well suited to the theme.

Great entry...my favorite of your 'intoxicating' Xmas photos! ;]

'Walking Through The Lights' I wasn't feeling the cold anymore. The snow was at almost white out condition but seemed to have no effect on me. We had walked several miles, at this point, and the forward movement became as if by rote. If this is where we were going to die, I was bent on absorbing every second. Micro became reality and macro just a blur. Then something happened that changed the entire reality of the moment. It was as if the heavens were opening up to us. Exquisite lights began shimmering through the skies. A completely different sensation went through me. I looked over to my two friends, to see if they were part of the 'going home' experience. At first, I wasn't sure. They had hit the same level of non-distress that I had and I was certain that my eyes were just as glazed over as theirs were. Was this one of the stages of hypothermia? Were we freezing to death and Creator, in infinite wisdom, was providing a 'Jimmi Hendrix Experience' for our viewing pleasure? I had always loved Vermont and it seemed as if my final moments would be forever etched in my psyche as an affirmation of how beautiful the place really was. The day had started with a furniture shopping trip with my friends Kate and Kenny. They had just bought a 10 room ski lodge near Killington and we were off to fill every room. After hours spent in the wood furniture outlet, we had filled the rental truck and shut the door. There was about 5 to 7 inches of snow on the ground but we knew the way back to Rutland and didn't think twice about the 10 mile journey. About 2 miles and half an hour later, our minds were changed. The truck had gone off the road, sliding on an ice patch, and down into a ditch. Thus began our walk through the storm that night. "Kenny, do you see that?" I wasn't sure what the answer would be. Almost didn't care if this vision was there or not. I was enjoying the view. "See what, Sue? I don't see anything." I looked over to see a sly smile on his face and we both started to laugh. "That is the Aurora Borealis, beautiful ain't it?" I just smiled at him, words weren't necessary. The energy that was filling the skies, the shimmer and static sounds were the most incredible thing to me. The colors and hues danced through the cold winter air above our heads. Giant sheer draperies being splayed across the sky, all for our viewing enjoyment, as we walked through the storm. I felt as if this was truly the 'One with the Universe' feeling that we all sought. Seemed almost funny that all it took was a slide off into a ditch to reach Nirvana. I wasn't going to argue, I was just enjoying the ride, er walk. I almost wanted this time to go on forever, not giving thought to the next steps or to what our last steps would be like. If this was "the Stairway To Heaven, I was going to immerse myself in each footfall. I then heard a crunching sound. Turning I saw a car pull up, it's sole occupant opened the door and offered us a ride into town. For a brief second I was torn, wanting to stay in this Paradise of Lights, but I was happy to be sitting in the warmth of the closed door. The lights were fading away, as we made our trip into civilization. The driver, as it turned out, was a doctor from Montreal and he was urging us to go to hospital. We did, finding that our adventure was resulting in some frostbite and altitude sickness, brought on by the walk of several miles through the snow. All worth the result of my first viewing of the Northern Lights. I live in the Rockies now and have since seen the lights. I smile with the appreciation of that first night and the feeling of 'walking on'. I've had a few more brushes with mortality but none as beautiful as that night. mourningdove caller (c)2005

Xmas light ... 4eva !!!

Carlos.

Excellent last minute entries, each and every one. This month's challenge warms my imagination. :D

Yes, indeed! :) Over the transom or under the wire, these are all quite nice entries. We've got a fine mix of fractals and photographs, renders and writing, from funny to elegant to thoughtful... and Rimrunner hasn't poked his head in yet, so there may still be a bit of time. I like it when voting is hard because there are so many EXCELLENT choices. Carolly

Great entries! Gunsan's touches my heart, it is exquisite. :)

First off Congrats to everyone !! Please cast your votes for your three top choices. 1st, 2nd and 3rd choice. I'll come back through and tally up the results and announce those on Sunday Night. Good luck everyone !!

A difficult decision, some good pieces to choose from but I've finally decided 1st Gunsan 2nd Azy 3rd Tresamie but well done all.

1~GUNSAN 2~hauksdottir 3~anniemation

There are so many excellent entries that I have to go with my heart on my voting. Great entries, everybody! 1. TwoPynts - I love those warm hearted snow people. 2. gunsan - so beautiful 3. netsia - because it's always nice to have the light of a winter's tale Truly, I hated to choose.

Great entries... what a great way to end the year! :D Well.. here it is: 1) Gunsan 2) Tresamie 3) Azy Happy New Year all!!!

This is an extremely hard decision! I feel like a kid in a candy shop, wanting to choose them all. :deep sigh: ********************* 1) anniemation Not just because I have a weakness for space, but this also has a sense of aiming for a goal, and thereby being placed among the stars. 2) gunsan Delicate and etherial and mysterious... just lovely. 3) solrac_gi_2nd Immaculate composition, perfect exposure (of a difficult subject), clean and elegant presentation. ******************* It hurts to only get 3 choices, since I emphasize with chohole's kitty (mine is no help at all when the trimmings and ornaments come out), netsia's story touched my heart (my own experience of hypothermia wasn't quite as inspiring), and I got a giggle out of both the snowmen and the holly. :sigh: Even chainedpoet's first attemmpt at lighting is gentle and sweet. Carolly

1)anniemation 2)gunsan 3)chainedpoet as stated a hard decision Sandy

I am so lost on this forum. Please somebody direct me to the place I'm to be. I'm looking for December contest. Thanks , Lotta

Lotta, This is the right thread for the December challenge. It is now in the voting stages. All entries are either posted directly to the thread or linked. We accept poetry and stories, photos, renderings, models, crafts, digital paintings and pencil scribbles... IOW, any media as long as it fits the theme. The winner of the challenge gets to choose the theme for the next month. It is a friendly challenge, and we can even post WIP and help each other with our comments. At least until voting time, when we go at it tooth and claw. (Just kidding.) Posts 4,7,16,19,21,25,27,29,32,34,35 are entries. To vote, just pick which 3 in order, and RimRunner will tally everything at the end. (We are supposed to award points, but I suspect that I'm not the only dyslexic on this board!) As you can see, there is a nice selection and it is fun and a learning experience. Sometimes voting is easy, and sometimes everybody really is a winner because they are all good and just entering was surmounting the challenge. The winner (most points) chooses a theme and starts a new thread. Here are links to our last 3: November - "weather signs" http://www.renderosity.com/messages.ez?ForumID=12372&Form.ShowMessage=2464906 October - "spooky" http://www.renderosity.com/messages.ez?ForumID=12372&Form.ShowMessage=2437160 September - "dignity" http://www.renderosity.com/messages.ez?ForumID=12372&Form.ShowMessage=2403346 Earlier themes this year included: "summer's end", "hot dogs", "crystal clear", "to wring tears from stone" "commencement", "march", "love", "resolution"... quite a span from serious to silly to sentimental. :) So, why not vote and then join in next time? Carolly

1st gunsan 2nd chohole 3rd solrac_gi_2nd This has been one of the hardest ones to vote on in recent memory! Everyone did so very well. I thought all of the entries were wonderful! I liked dialyn's also, a very clever idea!

Ist...anniemation
2nd...Gunsan
3rd...twopynts

Almost missed the vote, for some reason I didn't get an ebot.

Message edited on: 01/04/2006 10:05

I suspect that the ebots celebrated New Years... the American, the Chinese, the Jewish, the Mithrain, and Yule... so we'll be lucky to see them come staggering back sometime after snowmelt. ;^) A quick eyeballing looks like gunsan will take the lead with 20 votes, so he probably ought to be thinking of a challenge theme for this month while waiting for RimRunner to do the official annointing bit. Carolly

This is one of those happy months (and we've had many in 2005) where I'd be content if any (or all) of the participants won. It really is a wonderful end to and beginning of a year project. Thank you, tresamie, for suggesting it.