On Monday morning, 4-H Non-original Visual Arts
and 4-H Visual Arts judging took place with hundreds of outstanding
entries to choose from.
Participants may use media such as paper, clay, fiber, wood,
chalk/carbon/pigment, glass/plastic, metal, and nature to produce
their art.
Non-Original arts are made from either kits, pre-printed designs, or
pre-molded pieces. Original arts are designs created completely by
the exhibitor.
The art is judged for its craftsmanship, originality, and
creativity, though these areas are only a small portion of the total
score. 4-H members must also have a general knowledge of various art
concepts and be able to share a detailed explanation of their
project with the judges.
Judges say they consider how well 4-H members explain their project
goals, their decisions, and their results as well as providing a
self-evaluation of what they could have done differently.
Additionally, the 4-Hers must describe skills they learned and any
techniques and design elements they used in their project.
Both during and after judging, the judges make comments indicating
where participants did well and telling them how and where they
could improve. The “minute” details can be significant.
For instance, the prize-winning floriculture entries were very
colorful arrangements and the best of show entry was a beach scene
with plants that looked like little palm trees. Judge Jason Steffens
has said the presentation of the entries is an important part.
Several 4-H members did projects using various media and entered
both visual and non-visual projects, while others focused on one
project. Most have been working on their projects for the past few
months.
Emily Eeten did a photography project and took a photo of a
sunflower because it was so tall and colorful. She used her zoom
lens to get a good close-up photo of the flower.
Ethan Simonton drew and painted a picture of Jackie Robinson in his
Dodger uniform because that is his favorite player. He used a
drawing of Robinson to get the inspiration.
Megan Siddens did a woodworking project by making a cutting board.
She said it took a lot of hard work with gluing, sanding, edging,
and running it through a planer, then oiling it. Sidden’s other
project was an acrylic painting of a cherry blossom tree.
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Meya Harmon did three projects using different media.
The first project was a colorful sand and water scene with turtles
made of shells from the beach. Her second project was a painting of
the galaxy using blue, purple, and pink. The third project was a
crayon drawing of several flowers in a variety of colors. Each
project popped with color.
Ivy Sandel also used various media for her four projects. Sandel
said her three-dimensional multi-media picture was of flowers made
from wood and metal. She said her other projects were an acrylic
painting of a birch tree, a clay flowerpot, and a sculpture made of
tree branches that held “owls” made from rocks.
William Simonton entered two original and two non-original projects.
His woodworking project was a “W” with a bear inside, which is the
Cub’s baseball symbol for a win. The other woodworking project was
an owl with an “S” at the bottom for Simonton. His mom bought the
owl for her classroom and he wood-burned, stained, and painted it.
His non-original drawing was a baseball bat and ball copied from
looking at another picture. An original drawing was a catcher on a
baseball field. Simonton said the general theme of his art projects
was sports, which is something he loves.
Cavit Schempp entered five projects using various media and he works
on projects throughout much of the year. Schempp said his two
favorite projects were wooden coasters with a theme of chemical
elements and a metal project of a farmer waving while driving his
4020 John Deere tractor. Schempp used chalk and carbon pigment for
his drawing of cartoon character Elmer Fudd. His Heritage Arts
project was a knitted dishcloth. The project is considered a
Heritage Art because he learned the skill from another person with
his grandma Schempp teaching him to knit. His fiber project was a
knitted baby cap for his newborn cousin.
As usual, the visual and non-visual arts section showcased the
talents of many children from around Logan County. Winning entries
will be displayed in the Expo building throughout the week of the
fair.
[Angela Reiners] |