GFWC/Miosac Club honors high school artists
DOVER-FOXCROFT — A dozen pieces created by students at Foxcroft Academy and Piscataquis Community High School were on display at the General Federation of Women’s Clubs (GFWC)/Miosac Club’s annual art show on Sunday, March 24 at The Commons at Central Hall.
“Welcome to the GFWC art show,” event chair Wendy Hutchins said to those gathered in the facility event center upstairs. “We are a group that does community service and part of that is encouraging art in our local schools and we have two schoosl with us.”
Hutchins said artist Suzette East of Brownville served as the show judge again in 2019. “You may know her from the murals at Will’s Shop ‘n Save and at SeDoMoCha in the cafeteria, and in the Milo at the visitors’ center,” Hutchins said.
“She spent two hours yesterday going over all of the art and the artists’ technique,” Hutchins said about what East looked for in the student artwork.
East thanked the GFWC/Miosac Club and others involved “because there’s not a lot of opportunities in rural communities for artists to get out.”
“It’s incredible what students can do, a lot of times it’s on their own,” East said. She said the high school artists used their interests and imaginations to create some great art.
Art teachers all received a thank you from East as she said the educators provide their pupils with the inspiration to do more with their abilities.
“One thing that really shows up is the diversity,” East said as the artwork on display included mediums such as graphite, mixed media and watercolor.
“There is nothing in this room where I said ‘that person didn’t try,”’ she said after spending time the day before examining each piece of art.”They really pushed to bring this to a show.”
Top honors at the GFWC/Miosac Club Art Show were presented to PCHS senior Ashlie Grant for her piece featuring a sea turtle using both color and black and white.
Second place went to Foxcroft Academy senior Ashley Robinson. The third-place artwork belongs to Foxcroft Academy senior Eilidh Hines.
Foxcroft Academy sophomore Makayla Talbot earned the People’s Choice award per a vote of the art show attendees.
The honorees all received ribbons, certificates and cash prizes. Grant’s work advanced to the GFWC District Art Show on March 30 in Brewer, where the top pieces go on to the state-level competition in May.
Other art show participants were Foxcroft Academy senior Rebecca Bessey, junior Rui Feng and freshman Makayla Landry along with PCHS juniors Caitlyn Drinkwater and Ariona Gerry, sophomore Louise Gerickont and freshman Matt Burdin.