Writer/Photographer - Lily Monigold On Wednesday, February 24th, art students from Le Roy High School traveled to Springfield for a day filled with some awesome art. Our very own Brooke Raven’s art is included in this. Brooke Raven had three of her paintings on display among many other paintings, photographs, drawings, and sculptures. However, she had to work very hard to get these pieces here. In order for your art to be featured, you have to enter into the Mid-Central Regional Scholastic Art Competition. This year, there were 625 entries from students ranging from 6th grade to 12th grade. Last year, there were over 900 entries. This contest has been going on since 1923, so it will be reaching its 100-year anniversary in a couple of years. Brooke Raven won the Gwen Lewis and Wanda Riseman American Visions Nominee Award, as well as the Rod and Rosemary Buffington Portfolio Award. She also received a gold key for her art portfolio, and a silver key for her paintings. Her pieces are People First, 309, and Growing Into Me. Growing Into Me, her biggest piece of the three, is currently being judged out of five other pieces over the advancement to Nationals in New York at Carnegie Hall. This will be decided within the next few weeks. Brooke says that without quarantine, she doesn’t think she would have gotten where she is today. This time gave her the chance to work hard and continue to pursue her passions in art. The showcase will be taken down on Saturday, February 27th, so the Le Roy art students knew they wanted to catch the show before it went away. This is why on Wednesday morning, a group of 13 art students loaded up on a bus to head out to Springfield. Once there, students were able to explore around the whole show and take in all of the incredible art around them. Being surrounded by amazing art done by those around the same age is like an artist’s dreamland. After checking out the art, they were given a tour of the building with all of its features. Many art classes taken place here including painting, sculpting, glass-making, jewelry-making, and more. The actual building is very cool as well. Edwards Place was built in 1833 and remodeled in 1857. It is a historic house museum that was the home of the brother-in-law of Mary Lincoln’s sister Elizabeth. It was then restored in 2015. The one thing that remains authentic, however, is a couch in the building that is the very couch where Abraham Lincoln proposed to Mary Todd Lincoln. One of the first things students noticed when the bus approached the building was that it was pink and stood out like a sore thumb. While a pink building used for art is very cool, it was actually a mistake. When being repainted, the colors were mixed incorrectly. By the time the building was painted and dried, they realized it was pink and not the light beige it should have been. Some students were disappointed to hear that in the next couple of years they are trying to get enough funding to repaint it to its historically accurate color. Everyone at the building was very kind to us, and even gave each student a book filled with all of the art from last year’s competition. Brooke’s art will be included in the 2021 book once it is made. After visiting Edwards Place to see all of the art, everyone was ready and hungry for Italian food from Gallina’s Pizza. After eating, we set out on a walk for a couple blocks to tour the Old State Capitol Building. While here, Nick Knoedler was able to pick up his winning painting of Abraham Lincoln that had been displayed in the building since December. Students loaded back onto the bus after this to head to the school, and the all-in-all census was that it was a fun, eventful, and educational outing.
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