LITTLE ROCK — The 2011 “Collaboration of the Arts Festival” in Little Rock will have a definite Pea Ridge flavor this year as local elementary artists captured the lion’s share of the awards.
Little ’Hawk artists won 14 of the 24 awards being distributed statewide in the kindergarten through fifth-grade divisions. Included among the awards are four first places, three second places, five third places and two fourth places. First places will be honored with a cash award of $100, with $50 to second place, $25 to third and $15 to fourth place.
Pea Ridge earned $705 of the $1,030 to be presented in the elementary divisions.
Students from Pea Ridge Intermediate School swept all three first places in their division. Isaiah Pruitts’ (third grade) tempera painting of a chipmunk took a first as did fourth-grader Braeden Kennedys’ painting of a wildcat and fifth-grader Sarah Hargiss’ marker and crayon turtle. First- grader Isabella Smith won the other first place, with a glue and pastel drawing of an alligator.
Taking second places were: Jessica Gibson (kindergarten) for a crayon and watercolor of a deer and fawn; Jackson Revelle (second grade) for an acrylic painting of a tree frog; and Alayna Brown (fourth grade) for a charcoal drawing of a deer. In third place was Luis Montalvo (kindergarten) for a crayon drawing of an alligator; Elijah Austin (first grade) for an acrylic paintingof a bear in the woods,; Dillon Brouse (second grade) for an acrylic painting of racing turtles; Celine Franke (third grade) for a crayon and tempera drawing of a racoon; and Ashley Henson(fourth grade) for a painting of an owl. fourth places were won by Clay Sebree (first grade) for a hummingbird drawing and Anthony Hall (fifth grade) for a painting of a wolf.
The students and their teacher (John McGee) plan to travel to Little Rock on May 13 to accept their awards as a part of the annual “Collaboration” festival. Beside the student visual art competition, awards will also be awarded for adult artworks, photography and sculpting with special programs in dance, musical performances and other related demonstrations.Festival chairperson Sharon Hacker will award the student winners at the River Market Pavillion on Clinton Avenue at 6 p.m. in Little Rock.
The theme of this year’s festival - “Wildlife of Arkansas” - brought in a record number of entrants with the winning artworks to be put on display at the Central Arkansas Nature Center Building in Little Rock. The display will run to the end of June. In addition, the Arkansas Wildlife Federation will be using selected student winners for their 2012 Arkansas Wildlife calendar. The art to be used in the publication of the calendar will be announced later this spring.
After the festivities in Little Rock on May 13, Brouse and Gibson will be joined by firstgrader Mason Murillo as they will be honored by the Arkansas Department of Education at a ceremony on Saturday, May 14. The three were first place winners in the regional competition in Fayetteville recently. Each student will receive a gold medallion and view their art which will be among 78 pieces on display at the Arkansas Studies Institute building throughout the summer.
School, Pages 13 on 04/20/2011