Working Man Stan

By Scarlet Reitsma

Artist	Scarlet Reitsma
Medium	Collage / Mixed Media
Dimensions	8 h x 8 w
Artist Comments	Stan is a working-class guy who feels stuck in his life. He is the embodiment of having to go to a job that you don't like or even hate, to pay the bills. Stan's work environment is toxic, no co-worker friendships, as everyone is out to undercut the other. He is under pressure to do more in less time, so he works under a lot of stress. As much as he hates his job, he can't afford to lose it. Stan is the middle of middle men. Job loyalty is not a thing anymore, and he has been at the same job for years and hasn't moved at all. The white rocks symbolize the eggshells he is walking on just to survive, and they also symbolize the rocky road he has behind and ahead of him. The background of golden bird cages is very defining of how trapped he feels in his life.
Collisions by Erin Zinsky (First Place)	(i) In the time it takes to switch on the AC and close the drapes, two green lizards with black stripes run across the black-top driveway, disappearing into the rock wall. Their passing footprints in dust are soon erased by the brittle winds. (ii) I hit a bird with a car on the way to the hardware store – thwack! Or it hit me; I had the right of way; it flew into my path; neither of us could change our trajectory. I reach the store. All evidence has dried and flaked off, ground to dust in my wake. I load the AC into the trunk and wipe my hands on my jeans. (iii) Little feet dance with anticipation, then surge forward, landing a swift kick. The Lego figurine shatters, flying through the air. Take that Godzilla! I exclaim. Auntie, that’s an acrocanthosaurus. I stand corrected by a tiny lisp. My sweaty knees grind plastic fragments deep into the carpet. (iv) It rains for the last time as I wash the windows. Teetering on the end of a pole, I scrape the years’s soot. Distorted clouds provide little relief against the compounding heat, trapped in shimmering layers of grey. A drop falls on my head; I brush it away. My hand leaves a white streak on the windowpane. I scrub hard; it smears into the grooved surface.