NASA And Etsy Announce Winners Of "Space Craft" Contest

David E. Steitz

Headquarters, Washington     

WASHINGTON -- During a Friday ceremony in Brooklyn, N.Y., NASA and Etsy, an online marketplace for handmade arts and crafts, announced the winners of "Space Craft," a contest that received more than 600 entries.

Contestants entered an original handmade item or work of art inspired by NASA programs, such as the space shuttle, human spaceflight, aeronautics, science and exploration of the universe.

Colleen and Eric Whiteley from Brooklyn received the Grand Prize for Best of Show for their detailed design of the Northstar Table. The table features a North Star design that, when pressed, opens a hidden drawer.

Rachel Barry Hobson from Austin, Texas won the 2D Original category for her piece titled, "High Texture Hand Embroidery of the Moon." For the category of Two Dimensional Reproduction, "Universal Thoughts" by Nikkita Karsan Bhakta from Mobile, Ala., won the top prize.

Patrick Burt from Tempe, Ariz., won the Three Dimensional Original category with a Titanium ring titled "Brother Sun, Sister Moon." The silver, gold and diamond embedded ring represents stars, the sun, moon, Mercury, Mars, Venus, Jupiter and Saturn.

NASA's goal for the contest was to help inform Etsy's 5.8 million members, the majority of whom are women, most near age 35, about the agency's present and future exploration plans. NASA astronaut Steve Robinson attended the judging on March 18 at the Etsy Labs community space in Brooklyn.

Contestants entered work in three categories: two-dimensional original art; reproductions of original pieces and three-dimensional art. The two-dimensional pieces included paintings, drawings, rings, mixed media, photographs and computer-generated prints. The three dimensional entries ranged from wearable art to furniture and soft sculpture.

The grand prize team received a $500 shopping spree on Etsy and an all-expense-paid trip with a guest to attend the next shuttle launch at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Shuttle Endeavour and its crew are targeted to lift off on April 19. The winning two dimensional art piece may be flown aboard the flight.

The winner of each category received a $250 shopping spree on Etsy and a gift package of NASA and Etsy merchandise.

For more information about the contest winners and their works, visit http://www.etsy.com/nasa.

NASA's Partnerships, Innovation and Commercial Space program within the agency's Office of the Chief Technologist sponsored the Space Craft contest. For more information about NASA's Office of the Chief Technologist and partnerships, visit http://www.nasa.gov/oct.

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