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 On Monday morning Non-original Visual Arts and 4-H Visual Arts
judging took place.
Participants use media such as paper, clay, fiber, wood,
chalk/carbon/pigment, glass/plastic, metal, and nature to produce
their works of art with some spending months preparing their
projects for the fair.
When judging the art, the judges consider craftsmanship and
creativity, but that is only a part of what makes a project stand
out. John Klemm, one of the judges, noted that it is also about
experience, thoroughness, the [artist's] understanding of the
project, and level of achievement." Klemm notes that "details
separate [the work] if you want to get to the state level."
For photographs, Kim Wiggers de Otte states that she looks at
lighting, composition, focus, and what the participant learned from
reading the manual and working on it themselves.
As the Illinois 4-H extension site notes, the "4-H member should be
prepared to discuss their knowledge of their projects." The judges
make comments both during the judging and after the judging process
to indicate where the member did well and where they could improve.
For a woodworking project that was his entry in the fair,
10-year-old Nate Stuckey made a catapult and says he tested it using
marshmallows and Legos. Stuckey reported that he spent the last few
weeks working on it with some assistance from his grandpa.
For non-original visual arts, long-time participant Mary Carlock
painted a cup. Carlock said the painting did not take long and noted
that the work falls into the non-original category because she did
not make the cup.
Ruthie Ruhl took a class called Creating a Masterpiece when she
created her Conte crayon drawing of a horse. Ruhl stated that she
loves horses and recently took an art class where she learned how to
do this type of art. She said that it took a whole month of classes
on Fridays to create the work. Since it has 20 lines between the
cheekbone and the edge of the face, it took a while to create. Her
mother, Gena Monical Ruhl noted that Ruhl had several entries such
as a dragonfly drawing so detailed that it took many hours to
complete.
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Molly Schempp also completed several projects this year - entering 15 of them
including painting and knitting. Schempp explained that she spends nearly every
morning working on projects that are incorporated into her homeschooling.
Schempp noted that many of her projects for the fair are started in the winter
when they spend so much time inside, welding is done in the summer, and some
projects she works on throughout the year.
Though many have been working on these projects for months, some of the
participants finished their projects fairly quickly. For instance, top
woodworking project winner Grace Lessen, who made a puzzle using Intarsia (a
mosaic of wood), says that the summer has been so busy that she completed her
project in one day, though she noted that many of her projects take longer.
Nine-year-old Brenden Wurth, another first time participant, entered a
photograph of his baby cousin, noting that it took many shots to get just the
right one. He states that he has watched his mom taking pictures and really
enjoys photography.
Eleven-year-old Jake Curry, son of Jeff and Jackie Curry, used hundreds of Legos
to create the Lego City Swamp Set. Curry asserted that he customized some of the
details in the set and spent about a week putting it together. He noted that the
board that the city was set on was cut out by his dad and grandpa, but he put
everything else together.
The Visual Arts projects with awards will remain on display all week and can be
found about the middle section of the display barns on the fair grounds. Go
enjoy seeing what creative skill neighbors and friends have developed.
[Angela Reiners]
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