Your chance to design 2020 VMN recertification pin

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VMN is planning its 2020 VMN recertification pin, and they have decided that the species for the pin will be an aquatic macroinvertebrate.  They would like to invite any VMN volunteer (certified, member or trainee) to submit artwork that could be the basis for the pin design.

Guidelines:

1. Species: You can choose any benthic macroinvertebrate species (for example, species of mayflies, stoneflies, caddisflies, etc.)  The artwork should be of the immature stage of the invertebrate that lives in the water.  Please identify the invertebrate in your drawing at least to taxonomic order (e.g., mayfly, stonefly, etc.)  If your artwork is of an invertebrate from a particular family, genus, or species, please let us know that as well.

2. Drawings or paintings are preferred, as they tend to make a better pin in the end, but photographs will also be considered.

3. Full color is best.  Something that is uniform in color or very dark likely will not show up well as a pin.

4. The drawing or photo can be any size, but the pin is typically going to be about 1 inch in diameter, so keep in mind how the details will look when shrunk down to that size.

5. We plan to have the pin be cut out in the shape of the design (versus an oval or round pin), in the same style of the turtle and frog pins from 2016 and 2017, for example.  Because of that, it is best if the artwork is just the aquatic macroinvertebrate, without any background or other objects.  Try to visualize how your artwork will look cut out all around its edges.

6. The artist or photographer must be a current VMN volunteer (certified, member, or trainee.)

7. If you have been the artist for a recertification pin in a previous year, you are welcome to submit again, but if we have enough submissions that would work well for the pin, we are likely to try to choose a volunteer who has not had the opportunity before.

8. All entries will be recognized in our fall newsletter and at our statewide conference!

For inspiration, see past artwork that we used for the pins at http://www.virginiamasternaturalist.org/recertification-pins.html.We would like to have your submissions by 5:00 pm, Monday, August 26.  Please email a high resolution digital scan of the artwork or digital photograph to me at [email protected].