Submitted article
Students from across the Buckeye state have been busy preparing different pieces of art for the opportunity to be selected as one of the top 300 in the annual Ohio Governor’s Youth Art Exhibition.
Fourteen Galion High School students entered original artwork in the regional judging at Ontario High School. Cherokee Aller, Clair Erlsten, Brendan Pratt, Sam DeNero, Tristan Schroeder, Tyler Castline, Greer Gledhill, Michaela Slone, Bryce Lybarger, Cherokee DeLoach, Audrey Whited, Sydney Dameron, and Addie Zeisler were selected to enter their artwork for judging against 15,000 pieces submitted across the state.
“These fourteen students worked extremely hard to create their individual artwork,” art teacher Linda Wilson said. “These students put their artwork in the spotlight to be judged, and we were fortunate to have four students selected as regional winners and move on to the state judging.”
The state judging was held at Hilliard-Davidson High School March 14. Kennedy Greg (ceramics), Addison Zeisler (painting), Clair Erlsten (watercolor) and Cherokee DeLoach (mixed media painting) represented Galion at the state judging as the regional winners from the high school.
With 2,500 Regional pieces entered into the state judging, GHS senior Clair Erlsten’s watercolor, “Forever Flying”, was selected as one of the top 300 in the entire state. Her artwork will now be on display at the Rhodes Office Tower in Columbus.
“It feels awesome to be selected as a state winner and have my artwork on display in Columbus,” Erlsten said. “My painting is a picture of my cousin who was a pilot and passed away in a plane accident at the age of 22.”
Erlsten, who took painting at GHS last year and barely missed the cutoff for the Governor’s Art Show, spent nearly three months completing her painting. She had presented the piece to her aunt who returned it to Erlsten so she could enter the piece in this year’s statewide competition.
“My aunt and cousins are super happy,” Erlsten said. “My cousin was from Indiana and would fly smaller planes to Galion in the summer and stay at my grandparents’ home.”
The Ohio Governor’s Youth Art Exhibition is a fierce competition that results in many scholarship opportunities for students throughout Ohio. While the other three Galion students, Gregg, Zeisler and DeLoach, were not selected as state winners, their artwork will be displayed for five weeks at the Mansfield Art Center beginning March 22.
“I want to congratulate Clair for having her artwork selected as one of the top 300 in the entire state of Ohio,” Superintendent Mark Stefanik said. “All of the students who entered pieces in the Ohio Governor’s Youth Art Exhibition should be proud of their accomplishments. Mrs. Wilson does a fantastic job working with our students to hone their artistic abilities, and the students’ accomplishments are a direct result of that positive working relationship.”
To learn more about the Ohio Governor’s Youth Art Exhibition, visit www.govart.org. Please contact Linda Wilson at 419-468-6500 for more information about the Galion High School Art department.