Great pumpkins

It’s been raining pumpkins.

A total of 680 kids (and one 70-year-old) from around the region entered this year’s Halloween coloring contest. Choosing winners was not an easy task.

Below are the three top entries in each age group, as selected by a volunteer panel of S-R staffers. The winners were chosen based on use of color, materials and overall creativity.

Creativity, as always, was abundant.

The falling autumn leaves were a source of inspiration for a number of artists, including Shawn Gould, Olivia Sand and Ethan Whitmer.

Collage was a popular technique. Kendall Hoke colored his entry entirely with paper scraps, including black hole-punch dots for the bats. Gabby Clark created unique textures with scraps from magazines. Kaitlyn Campbell’s crepe-paper design was neatly done.

Artists who took a more traditional approach with materials also showed a lot of creativity. Ben Mitchell used stamps and tempera paint to bring more ghosts and bats into his composition, and Bubba Rubertt made his pumpkin and bats come alive with motion and expression.

And Mason Copeland combined a variety of materials, including a fringed border, in his work, which he nicknamed “Dumb Drew.”

The winners each receive a $15 gift certificate to Mobius Kids. You can see all of the entries at Mobius, in River Park Square at 808 W. Main Ave., through Friday.

Our next coloring contest will be in February. Thanks to everyone for your fantastic entries.

– Ken Paulman, features editor