A blue harbor view and a depiction of hockey dreams have earned two Four Corners Elementary School students a trip to Eau Claire.
Fifth-graders Lauren Krob and Janae Widiker are among the Wisconsin winners in the PTA Reflections Art Program. They accept awards for their paintings this weekend during the state PTA convention.
The contest was a good fit for Lauren.
“I’m always drawing constantly,” she said.
“She likes to paint; she draws and doodles all the time,” said her mother, Michelle Krob.
Lauren has been entering, and winning awards, in the contest since kindergarten.
“It’s a nice program; it’s fun,” Krob said.
Each year, students are asked to create art based on a theme. It can be visual arts, music composition, photography, literature, choreography or film production. Lauren and Janae have had their wins in the visual arts category, although both have tried their hand at photography.
“You get to express yourself too,” said Janae, who has entered the contest four times.
This year’s theme was “Believe, Dream, Inspire.” Janae painted a blue lake scene that included the Duluth Canal Park lift bridge.
“I honestly think that this inspires me to do a lot of drawing,” she said of Lake Superior.
Lauren drew a picture of herself dreaming of playing hockey.
“I have a back brace. I have scoliosis and I also play hockey,” she said. “So I think this relates to the theme because you can do anything you put your mind to.”
The fifth-grader has been playing hockey since kindergarten, and she’s determined scoliosis won’t change that.
“I’m currently wearing a brace but after I get surgery I will still be able to play,” Lauren said.
Krob has travelled with her daughter to the awards ceremony every year. The Four Corners PTA even helped fund the trips. Last year, the event was in Racine, which led to a very special mother-daughter side trip.
“We went to the Milwaukee Art Museum,” Lauren said. “So we got to tour around there and it was a lot of fun because you got to see all the art people make.” She told her mother that someday she would like her own pieces to hang there.
The Reflections contest is open to all students through the PTA.
“I do encourage anyone to participate,” Krob said. “It’s a neat way for them to express themselves and their creativity.”
Both Four Corners winners said they plan to continue entering artwork in the contest through high school. Lauren wants to be an artist when she grows up.
“I’d like to do biology,” Janae said. “But I also think I’d like to do a little art, too.”
For more information on the PTA Reflections arts program, check with your school’s PTA officers, or go to
www.pta.org
or
www.wisconsinpta.org
.
