Budding artist, Katie Carmichael, was living the dream this past week after being announced as winner of a competition to design the official poster of The 2014 Ryder Cup.
Katie's vision became a reality as her winning design was transformed into a piece of Ryder Cup memorabilia during the first print run of official posters at J Thomson Colour Printers in Glasgow.
After agreeing final design details with the printing team, the 31 year old youth worker from Alloa waited at the end of the production line to witness her striking water colour creation become a feature of one of the world's greatest sporting contests.
The competition was run by the Official Charities of The 2014 Ryder Cup who called for budding artists and designers to participate in a national art competition to design the official poster of The 2014 Ryder Cup, encapsulating the spirit of the tournament and Scotland.
An esteemed judging panel that included European Team Captain Paul McGinley, Scottish Cabinet Secretary for Sport Shona Robison and artist Frank Boyle ran the rule over an impressive array of entries incorporating varying artistic techniques and methods.
After much deliberation, Katie's design was named the overall winner of the competition while the entries of Oliver Boyd, of Kirkcaldy, and Dave Morrow, from Glasgow, were declared runners up.
The final poster will be available to buy at Gleneagles throughout the week 23 - 28 September as well as via the online Official European 2014 Ryder Cup Shop at http://euroshop.rydercup.com/stores/golf/
All proceeds raised from sales will go towards the four official charities of The 2014 Ryder Cup - Quarriers, Friends of St Margaret's Hospital, Perth & Kinross Disability sport and The McGinley Foundation.
As well as being given the title of Designer of the official 2014 Ryder Cup poster, Katie has also won a trip for two to Paris, £200 worth of art supply vouchers and a framed, signed copy of her winning design.
On winning the competition, she said: "I don't think it's quite sunk in yet that the poster I designed in my kitchen has become an official piece of Ryder Cup merchandise!
"Art has always been a passion of mine and I do a bit of design work for friends every now and then. However, I never thought I'd end up designing the Ryder Cup poster, particularly when the design was my first ever water colour!
"The competition was a great opportunity and to win provides a great platform to maybe try and take my art a bit more seriously.
"I'm really looking forward to seeing the poster on sale at Gleneagles, and very excited to experience the atmosphere during the Match, and hopefully it can help raise significant funds for the Official Charities to support the fantastic work they do."
Paul McGinley, European Team Captain and official judge of the competition, said: "It was great to be a part of the competition's judging panel and I was hugely impressed by the standard of the entries and the creative talent on show.
"My congratulations go to the winner, Katie, as well as the runners up for their outstanding efforts.
"It's fantastic for Katie that her winning entry will create a piece of Ryder Cup memorabilia that will not only be remembered for years to come but will also be raising funds for the Official Charities of The 2014 Ryder Cup."
Speaking on behalf of the Official Charities, Trish Godman, Chair of Quarriers' Board of Trustees, who was also on the competition judging panel, said: "The opportunity to design the official poster of The 2014 Ryder Cup competition was a fantastic way to encourage engagement with the charities involved and to raise public awareness of the work they do on a day to day basis.
"Some of the entries have been absolutely brilliant and it was a very difficult decision to pick a winner. "However, Katie's imaginative design very much stood out and we're delighted she is able to see her creation exposed to a global audience.
"The competition has been an extremely successful initiative for all four charities and we're confident the final poster will provide an effective fundraising mechanism."
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