Karen Luckey and Ivy Davis
2011 Sweet Pea Contest Winners

This year's Sweet Pea Festival poster brings together the old and the new, and it’s all due to a dynamic mother-daughter duo.

Helena resident Karen Luckey combined her skills as an oil painter with her Bozemanite daughter Ivy Davis’ computer savvy to depict a landscape of sweet peas and mountains.

“We really liked the idea of using a piece of fine art as the main art of the poster,” Davis said.

The daughter described working with her mother as a natural partnership. “We’ve never worked together like this before,” Davis said, “but we have always critiqued each others’ work and bounced ideas off of each other.”

Their design was chosen over 63 other entries, said Diane Gresham, the poster contest chairwoman for the annual festival.

“The judges look for a poster that gives you a sense of Montana and the happy feeling of the festival,” she said. “This one really stood out.”

Designs by Boyd Erickson and Christine Sutton took second and third place.

In addition to the poster contest, T-shirt competition winners have also been selected.

Sixth-grader Karen Phillips won the children’s T-shirt design contest with her drawing of sweet peas in a red wagon. Her colored-pencil design is a great children’s shirt “because kids like wagons,” she said.

The grand prize for the adult T-shirt design went to Nikki Erickson, the wife of second-place poster designer Boyd. As a freelance graphic designer, she said she prefers “crisp and simple and clean” designs.

Sarah Jensen, the T-shirt contest chairwoman, said that simplicity is why Nikki’s design won.

“We like designs that aren’t just relevant, but also are simple enough that no details are lost in the silk-screening process,” Jensen said.

Overall, the contestants all shared an appreciation of the festival they contributed to.

“We’ve been going to the Sweet Pea Festival for years and years,” Davis said. “We were pretty honored to be able to partake in the festivities in a new way this year.”

The festival this year is August 5-7. Beginning July 8, all of the poster entries will be on display at ERA Landmark on Main Street.

2nd Place		2nd Place
Sam Edmisten		Sarah Sutton
Bozeman, Montana		Bozeman, Montana
3rd Place		3rd Place
Erick Lawrence		Mary Beil
5th Grade		Fort Shaw, Montana
Bozeman, Montana