High school and middle school art students from Brown and other surrounding counties had the chance to win cash prizes and have their work put on display in an exhibit at the Brown County Art Gallery for over a month thanks to an art competition in its 25th year.
The Mable B. Annis Student Art Competition opened on April 8 at the gallery and includes entries from 14 schools in Central Indiana.
Students competed in a variety of categories, including drawing, printmaking, painting, photography, 3-D and video.
Two Brown County High School students, freshman Cambria Cox and junior Kirsten Bartley, won judges awards for their submitted works.
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Cox submitted her painting, “Forbidden Love,” which features two people being pulled apart by several figures, when they were just inches from a loving embrace.
The female in the painting has more color on her face, and she appears to be straining much more than the male, who is painted in black and white.
Last week, Cox described her use of color in the painting to represent the two characters’ roles in their relationship.
“Why she’s lighter and he’s darker is because he’s the ice to her fire, they’re always balancing each other out,” she said.
Cox said that it felt “pretty cool” to win.
Bartley shared that feeling when she won the judges award in the photography category.
Her submitted photo is unnamed and was taken through the window of a cruise ship in late January. Her semi-transparent reflection overlays a view of blue ocean water.
Bartley said she has been taking pictures for a long time —she even took maternity photos for her mother — and when she heard about the contest and the possibility of winning a cash prize, she decided she would look through her collection and submit some of her favorites.
After evaluating the photo’s layout of this, its transparency, Bartley thought it would do well in the competition, and it did, she said.
“I could see myself through the window, and I was like, ‘That would be a really cool picture.’”
Local artist Kurt Eagleman is filling in as art teacher for Brown County High School through the end of the year, and said he was proud of Cox and Bartley’s accomplishment in the competition.
“It’s great that Brown County had two judges awards,” he said last week.
Eagleman has Cox as an independent study for painting. He described her as a “prolific artist, up-and-coming.”
He also has Bartley as a student in two art classes — ceramics and photography.
Both students said they were looking forward to submitting their art in the competition again in the future.
Eagleman added that both students have a piece submitted in the Peaceful Valley art competition that is currently under way. Winners for that competition should be announced soon, he said.
The Mabel B. Annis exhibit is open daily through May 14 in Stevens Education Studio. A digital catalogue is available on the gallery website, www.browncountyartallery.org, and on its Facebook page.
According to a press release about the event, the event is sponsored by the Mabel B. Annis Trust, Indiana Heritage Arts and the Gallery Foundation. More than 50 checks were handed out at the opening in prize money, teacher awards, judges stipends and a stipend for every participating teacher.
The main judge for the competition was Indianapolis artist and educator Israel Solomon.
“Solomon’s contemporary style and professional credentials provided a level of expertise, and his open manner made him a hit with students, parents, and teachers,” the release said.
An exhibit of his artwork is also on display at the gallery.
