Nine Pea Ridge Elementary art students were among the winners announced Saturday at the Arts Center of the Ozarks annual Celebrate Art Show and Competition.
Pea Ridge Primary School students captured two firsts as well as individual second, third and fourth places, with the Intermediate students claiming one third place and three fourth places. The local artists’ total of nine ribbons won represents 25 percent of all ribbons awarded at the competition which was open to students attending public or private schools in Benton, Washington, Madison or Carroll counties.
The top winner for Pea Ridge was second grader Lorena Razuri who was first in her grade, as well as placing third overall among all artists from kindergarten through eighth grade.
Razuri’s entry was a stilllife painting of flowers on black paper.
The other first place recipient was kindergartner Monique Holley, whoentered a still-life flower drawing using oil pastels and watercolors. In second place in the same division was Nalea Holliday, who won with an oil pastel and marker drawing of an old mill.
Third places were taken by first grader Rebecca Trammel, who entered a tempera painting of two basketball players, and third grader Ashley Hanson, who entered a charcoal drawing of the Statue of Liberty. Fourth places were won by: first grader Zalea Harris (a drawing of a tree filled with Toucans), third grader Nicholas Coble (charcoal drawing of a log cabin), fourth grader Elizabeth Bryant (a pencildrawing of an owl), and fifth grader Izzi Smith (a pastel drawing of a stilllife).
“This was our first time to enter the ACO show, which has a very nice venue to exhibit art.” John McGee, elementary art teacher, said. “As always, it was difficult deciding on which student’s art to enter as we have quite a few students that do excellent work. We will be entering two more competitions this year in addition to putting on the exhibition in Tulsa this summer (Gilcrease Museum), so I hope to get as many kids involved as possible in showing their work in public.”
The art work, along with the work 25 other Pea Ridge students, will be on display at the Arts Center of the Ozarks all through the month of March, was is National Young ArtistsMonth. The center is located at 214 S. Main Street in downtown Springdale.
The Pea Ridge entries are also being displayed on the school Web site at www.artsonia.com/ pearidge2.
School, Pages 8 on 03/10/2010