Thanks to her loyal fans on Twitter, Canton, OH artist BZTAT (AKA Vicki Boatright) is a finalist in the Shorty Awards.

“Hollywood has the Oscars. Broadway has the Tonys. Now Twitter has the…Shorty Awards.” ~The New York Times
The Shorty Awards Ceremony where the winners will be announced will be held in New York City on March 3, 2010. In order to raise money for the trip, BZTAT will be holding a special fund raising event.

On Thursday, February 18, 2010BZTAT will engage in an exclusive “Paint-A-Thon”, painting animal themed artworks non-stop from 9:00 am to 9:00 pm at Second April Galerie in Canton, OH.

All works created in that 12 hours will be auctioned off in a silent auction to raise money for BZTAT to attend the Shorty Awards Ceremony in New York City on March 3, 2010. Interested individuals can bid on the artwork either on location at Second April Galerie or online via Twitter.

Bidding on BZTAT artworks will begin at 7:00 pm EDT and conclude around 9:00 pm EDT on Thursday, February 18. BZTAT will have assistants tweeting photos of the works on Twitter as she creates them and after they are completed. Follow #bztatptg on Twitter to get the latest updates.

If you would like to submit a bid on Twitter, please send a tweet with your bid amount and #bztatptg written in the tweet. Your profile must be visible in Tweetgrid for us to receive the bid. All bids must be in $5.00 increments. A 10-minute warning will be tweeted to announce the conclusion of the auction 10 minutes before bidding stops.

It is recommended that interested Twitterers follow the action on Tweetgrid to get real time updates. (We are not responsible for any technical difficulties that may occur as a result of Twitter or associated application interruptions.) Bids will also be taken on site at Second April. Winning bidders will purchase the work by contributing to the Shorty Awards Trip widget located on the left sidebar at http://bztat.com. Any shipping costs will be the responsibility of the winning bidder ($15.00 in Continental USA, varies for other locations).

Even if you do not wish to bid on the artwork, you can still participate and help re-tweet the action! Non-deductible contributions to the Shorty Awards Trip can also be made through theChip-In widget located on the left sidebar at http://bztat.com. Any size contribution is welcome.