Katie Sauceda of Keller roped lots of classic Texas icons into her entry for the 2019 Big Tex Boot Design Contest. But she incorporated a couple of unexpected goodies into her artwork, too.
» A rope-bordered outline of the state ...
» ... festooned with a spray of beautiful bluebonnets (our state flower, of course)
» Texas' state plant, the prickly pear cactus, and other cacti
» Texas' state small mammal, the armadillo
» A pair of horseshoes (bonus trivia: A farrier is someone who shoes horses.)
» A pair of peppers
» An old windmill (vs. the giant modern ones)
» An oil derrick (perhaps Spindletop?)
» A spur
» Mountains (Perhaps Davis? Franklin? Guadalupe? The Chisos in Big Bend?)
» The Texas flag
» Sauceda remembered the Alamo
» A NASA space shuttle! (Don't forget SpaceX has a launch site in Texas, too.)
» Bats!
The State Fair of Texas and Lucchese Boots solicited designs to clad Big Tex's big feet during the 2019 fair. They narrowed down entries to 10 finalists and put them to a public vote, which Sauceda won.
As the first-place winner, she will work with the State Fair and the El Paso-based bootmaker to put the finishing touches on her boot design. View the other entries here.
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Here's the original Feb. 22, 2019, story:
Should Big Tex put on bluebonnet boots? Corn dog kicks? Ferris wheel footwear?
The big man's boots are a big deal, and the public gets to decide what design he wears for the 2019 State Fair of Texas.
Judges sifted through roughly 250 entries — with artists ranging in age from 4 to 75 — and chose 10 for the Big Tex Boot Design contest.
Seven of the finalists are North Texans: they're from Keller, Carrollton, Irving, Denton and three are from Dallas. The other three finalists are from San Antonio, San Marcos and Austin.
#BigTex asked, Y'all delivered! Judges have spoken, now you get to vote. We received a whoppin’ 250+ #DesignMyBoots contest submissions & now it is up to you folks to decide! Submit your vote now through March 6th at 10 am: https://t.co/TYLDZuIlci pic.twitter.com/E12mIZrsRF— State Fair of Texas (@StateFairOfTX) February 21, 2019
The designs showcase a range of looks, either evoking the fun of the fair, the grandiosity of the state or the simplicity of an old Texas cowboy.
Several are varying collages of State Fair and Texas icons, like windmills, the Ferris wheel, oil derricks, a yellow rose and the Alamo.
A few sport unexpected, delightful details, like bats, a space shuttle and — yes! — mustard-lined corn dogs.
There are a couple of simple, classic designs, but one entry has rich blue blooms exploding from the boot. One design looks like a vintage Texas postcard.
Voting is open ( right here) through 10 a.m. on March 6. Voters can rate 10 boot design entries on three criteria:
- Creativity of Design — Does the look surprise you in any way?
- Representation of Texas Pride – Does the design do a good job of capturing that tingly "Texas, Our Texas" feeling?
- Design for Big Tex – Can you envision the mascot being proud to wear the design on his giant Luccheses?
Contest organizers say the winning design will be announced by mid-March. The finalist with the highest score will be the winner, who will work with a team of folks from the fair and Lucchese to refine and finalize the design.
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