Ahoy mateys!!!!
I am surprised and pleased at botht he start of this thread as well as the conversation surrounding it!!!
I would like to make a couple of quick points here.
First, there really is no affiliation with the Masterclass Yahoo Group aside from a place to discuss entries and the winner is and has always been posted there. It has a vast membership and since I am a moderator, I can send the e-mails out mentioning the voting and winners. Of course, this hasn\'t really done much of late so this connection could realistically dissappear without a problem.
Secondly, I am revamping some of the rules and ideas as we speak. The Fungal Growth was very fun, but it was getting increasingly difficult for the secret panel to track people\'s entries and progress, and with many personal issues and time consuming things going on, that part of the contest slowly fell away. This could change with perhaps a discussion format of picking a winner, and I would be more than willing to go that route.
Third, I, myself, have been incredibaly busy with many things, from yard renovations, to baseball and even my political writings have taken much more time now. When I have little interest in painting, it is hard to find interest in promoting my contest

This should change soon, as I am getting the painting bug back (also known as a relapse of Figmentia since there is no permanent cure of course!!!).
So what next? Well I am going to be reworking a few rules and ideas... We could easily rid the masterclass label by having a monthly discussion here. Perhaps Chern would be willing to make a subsection of the forum just for it (I alone cannot do every bit of promoting and management). I love what Terry did at EO and intend to keep the gallery and archives there and at Tony\'s Painting Clinic. There help has been fantastic since this started over 4 years ago now (yeah it has been THAT long!). Having a monthly thread here would be great for discussion as well as having a poll where YOU, the painters, could actually pick the Fungal Growth winner.
Another big issue is prizes. I loved what Reaper did. The little blister packed \"Golden Toadstools\" and \"Fungus patches\" were awesome prizes. Sadly, the communication level was no where near what I hoped between myself and them though, and I grew weary of trying to placate winners who had not received prizes. Prizes are always nice, but as someone said, we all have more lead than we could ever paint. And the MAIN goal of the contest has always been more educational.
I am, obviously, listening however, when people do mention helping with sponsorship.
Thanks for the support! I will get back when I have some input and updated rules etc... Feel free to offer suggestions
You guys (and gals especially) are great!