Local youth artists awarded cash prizes in inaugural youth art show currently on display at the Brodhead Public Library

Eleven 7th and 8th grade artists were awarded 12 cash prizes at an April 16th awards ceremony for the inaugural Youth Art Show sponsored by the Driftless Area Artists and McGowan Architecture. The show awarded a total of $275.00 in prize money for 12 works of art that were selected from a field of 43 submissions. Five schools, including Albany Middle School, Brodhead Middle School, Juda Middle School, Monticello Middle School and New Glarus Middle School, participated in the show. The works of art were judged by Kathy King, a well-known local artist and art teacher at Monroe High School, Gigi Mullen, an artist from Durrand, IL, and Patrick McGowan, architect and owner of McGowan Architecture.

Best of Show, a $50 award, was given to Lorelei Pagett (Juda Middle School) for her work Garden Bee, done with copic markers. All of the judges were impressed that this work had been executed by a middle school artist. The confidence in the line work and the quality of the rendering were impeccable.

The Driftless Prize and Artist's Prize, both $35 awards, were given to Camden Pryce (Albany M.S.) and Ben Lukszys (New Glarus M.S.) respectively. Camden's work is a mixed-media piece with a graphic novel called Sword and Comic Book. This piece showed a very creative and active imagination at work. Ben's piece, Self Portrait, is an acrylic painting. It is a finely drawn and painted self-portrait, executed with a bold color combination, that is a true reflection of the artist.

Three Judge's Choice Awards, each a $20 award, were given. The first was given to Abigail Hennessey (Albany M.S.) for Rising Sun, an abstract painting using both acrylic and spray paint. The judges admired the artist's willingness to step into the world of abstract work. The second award was given to Dylan Fritz (New Glarus M.S.) for his mixed-media sculpture titled Smaug, The Impenetrable. This work is a finely crafted piece created with found objects assembled to create a fierce dragon. The final Judge's Choice Award went to Salynne Pendergrass and Sam Patchen (both from Albany M.S.) for their colored pencil and marker piece titled Beauty. Beauty is a wonderfully drawn and rendered portrait of a tranquil, beautiful young girl.

A People's Choice Award was also given as part of the show. The public had an opportunity to vote for their favorite piece and an award was given to the work of art receiving the most votes. When the 53 votes were counted, it was Onnikah Oliver (Brodhead M.S.) who was awarded the People's Choice Award for her work titled Self Portrait #2. The work is a wonderful value study, executed in acrylic paint that really reflects the character of the artist who created it.

Five Honor Awards, each a $15 award, were also given as part of the show. Each work given an Honor Award exhibited characteristics that appealed to the judges. Abigail Hennessey won a second award in the show for a mixed-media sculpture titled The Universe is More Than Just One Thing. Sam Patchen also won a second award in the show for a tempra painting titled Cloud Colors. The third Honor Award went to Mataya Mordhorst (Brodhead M.S.) for her transformational sculpture titled The Fox + The Paint. This piece used one form, a cast of Mataya's hand to represent another form, that of a fox. Nichole Lehr (Monticello M.S.) was the winner of the fourth Honor Award for her acrylic painting Daisy, which used both abstract and representational styles to portray a flower. The final Honor Award was given to Maddie Deegan (New Glarus M.S.) for Under the Sea, an origami piece that used an abstract geometric and kaleidoscopic composition to represent a colorful undersea world.

The awards ceremony was well attended by over 50 people that included the artists, family and friends of the artists, the art teachers from the schools involved, the judges and members of the Driftless Area Artists. The show, at the Brodhead Public Library, will run until April 30.

Sponsors

The Driftless Area Artists is an association committed to nurturing the artistic growth and development of artists. The organization strives to increase awareness of local art in the Driftless region of southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois.

McGowan Architecture is an architecture firm founded in 2008, currently based in Madison, WI, that is committed to encouraging and supporting the arts in southern Wisconsin, specifically in Green County.