2023 Logan County Fair

Youth of all ages participate in the Monday morning 4-H General Projects judging

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[August 04, 2023]   On Monday, judging of 4-H Non-original Visual Arts, Visual Arts and general projects took place with hundreds of outstanding entries.

For the visual arts, participants may use media such as paper, clay, leather, fiber, wood, chalk, carbon/pigment, glass/plastic, metal, and nature to produce their art. The art can even be 3D or computer generated.

Non-original arts are made from either kits, pre-printed designs, or pre-molded pieces.

Original arts are designs created completely by the exhibitor.

Other projects included animal science, career/leadership, general entomology, floriculture, horticulture and photography.

Visual arts are judged on correct use of design elements, principles, expressive elements and technique. Other important areas include craftsmanship, creativity and inventiveness.

Some 4-H members did projects using various media and entered both visual and non-visual projects, while others focused on one project. Many have been working on their projects for the past few months while others started projects the last few weeks.

Besides long time 4-H members were youngsters entering projects for the first time.

Nine year old Abby Heriford is in her first year of 4-H and created a miniature farmer’s market stand. Perched on top of the stand were origami birds. Heriford watched YouTube videos to get ideas for her projects.

Twelve year old Bhayleigh Osborn is in her second year of 4-H and entering a painting. Osborn’s painting was a farm scene with a barn, tractor, windmill and pig.

Eleven year old Scotty White has been in 4-H for three years and usually does photography and floriculture. This year, he used different Lego sets to create battle a scene.

Rita Davison is also eleven and in her third year of 4-H. Davison created a scrapbook with photos of kittens. Her other project was made using Legos.

Aden Wurth is nineteen and is in his tenth and last year of 4-H. Wurth entered a paddleboard that was a project for his woodworking class at LCHS. A posterboard explained his process of making the paddleboard.

Ten year old Carter Johnson has been in 4-H for two years and made a wooden planter box. He said it only took a couple of days to make the box. The Johnsons have many plants at home, so he said it will be used to hold plants at some point.

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Another person in her final year of 4-H is nineteen year old Haven Henry who entered four projects made from various media. One was a Cubs blanket. Henry’s other projects were a 2D model of a heart and heart valves, a melted snowman ornament and a painting of a shoe.

Fifteen year old Makia Hassebrock is in her ninth year of 4-H. Hassebrock entered a painting and a fairy house. The fairy house, which fits in with an outdoor theme, was created using paper mâché and moss.

Both during and after judging, judges make comments telling participants where they did well and discussing how and where they could improve. The little details can be significant.

For example, when looking at a painting, one judge asked the entrant about the type of paint they used and whether it was created using a template.

Woodworking judge Rick Kidd asks participants what kind of wood was used for the project, what kinds of tools and techniques they used and how they came up with the design. Kidd also asks whether they did measuring and cutting and has them demonstrate their knowledge by using a measuring tape. Finally, he wants to know what they would do differently. As Kidd said there is no such thing as perfection—there is always room for improvement.

Two of the judges were long time 4-H members and now get to experience the projects from the other side.

Cavit Schempp was in 4-H for ten years and is in his first year as a judge. Schempp enjoys being able to see the variety of projects and what kids come up with.

Jayden Lawrence was in 4-H for ten years and has now been a judge for three years. Besides seeing the variety of projects, Lawrence enjoys hearing what participants have learned. Lawrence said she loves giving back to 4-H since it was a big part of helping her decide on a career. She is currently working on a master’s in animal science.

The event used to include all the county 4-H participants arriving at the same time and waiting to be judged making it loud and crowded, though quite organized. A recent change eliminated those challenges. Area 4-H Clubs now arrive by club at varying times throughout the morning.

As usual, the visual, non-visual arts and general projects section highlighted the talents and creativity of many children from around Logan County.

Winning entries will be on display in the Expo building throughout the week of the fair.

[Angela Reiners with photos by Lesleigh Bennett]

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