PEA RIDGE — Four elementary students and one middle school student wereamong the winners announced this week as a result of participating in the Northwest Arkansas RegionalArt Competition/Exhibition.
The local artists came up with one first place, one second place and three third places from among the 10 counties that make up the northwest region. More than 200 schools are eligible to compete in this annual event.
The Pea Ridge student claiming the top prize was kindergartner, Chastity Pippen, who won with a crayon and watercolor picture of Louis Armstrong playing a trumpet. In second place in the same division was Luke Baker, who rendered a marker and sharpie picture of Venice, Italy.
Taking third place in the first-grade category was Brenden Spillman’s acrylic painting of a cityscape entitled “City Lights.” Another third place award was earned by Isabella Smith for her tempera painting of wild horses.
Rounding out the winners was middle-schooler and seventh-grader Stephanie Sanders, who also captured third place in her grade.
The art exhibition featuring all the finalists in the competition was put on display at the Fayetteville Public Library on Mountain Street, in a showing that began March 1. The last day of the exhibition on April 14, will also feature a reception for all winners in the competition. Refreshments will be made available at 2 p.m., with awards to be presented at 2:30 p.m.
First place winners will be presented with special gold medallions with their art to be placed on display in Little Rock until the fall season. The state reception for gold medal winners will be held in May.
The four awards won by the elementary students this year makes a total of 16 awards won by the Kindergarten through fifthgrade students over the past four years.
“We are blessed to haveso many art-enthused young people attending our schools,” elementary art teacher John McGee said. “It was really hard to send in just seven pictures (the most allowed to any school) when we have literally hundreds of good works done by our kids.
It also helps that we have such great backing and support from the school administration and the community at large.”
The next event for the young artists will be the Arts Center of the Ozarks annual bi-county “Celebrate Art” exhibition/competition that will be held in Springdale next month. Coming up in May, the elementary students have been invited by the Gilcrease Muesum for American Art to put on a month long exhibition featuring art from all six grades in the primary and intermediate schools. The Gilcrease is a world renown museum located in northwest Tulsa.
The museum invites 10 schools a year to put on an exhibition and this year will mark the third time that Pea Ridge has had the honor.
School, Pages 12 on 03/14/2012