By David Shivers
Like the sweep of a painter’s brush putting the final touches to a brilliant work, the Young Artists Luncheon capped the spring art season sponsored by the Kiwanis Club of Dougherty County with a celebration of the skills and talents of youthful painters in Dougherty and Lee counties.
Elementary, middle, and high school grades were represented by students and teachers from both counties and Deerfield-Windsor Academy, as well as departing Dougherty County school superintendent Dr. Sally Whatley, who was honored with a special appreciation gift for her steadfast attendance at the luncheon over the years of her tenure as superintendent and administrator in DCSS.
Art teachers in attendance at the luncheon were recognized, as were two “Schools of Distinction”: Robert Cross Middle School and Westover High School.
This year marked the 30th anniversary of DoCo Kiwanis’s sponsorship of the youth art contest. At the luncheon, held in conjunction with the club’s regular weekly meeting, awards totaling $1,500 were presented to winning artists, as works by them were displayed around the perimeter of the room.
The overall first-, second-, and third-place finishers this year, awarded in the “Best in Show’ category, were, respectively, Alisa Moody, Westover High School, for “Macy Noelle”; Sterling Murphy, Dougherty High School, “Midnight in Brooklyn”; and Isabel Fowler, Westover High, “Old Man”.
As part of the art contest, works by top finishers were again taken by art contest committee chair Kristin Caso to vie in Georgia District Kiwanis’s statewide art competition in Carrollton in April. None of the entries from this area placed at the state level this time, Caso said, but the Georgia Kiwanis District awarded some $15,000 in art scholarships to other students from across the state.
Caso expressed appreciation to the Albany Museum of Art, the Albany Area Arts Council, and Albany Mall for their cooperation and assistance in the annual local event.
After leading the Young Artists showcase and competition for the past five years, Caso, who is employed by the Albany Recreation and Parks Department as a marketing/events coordinator, has decided to pass the show chair reins to someone else. After commending Caso for her past leadership and dedication to the yearly undertaking, Kiwanis of Dougherty president Dorene Parker emphasized to the audience that the art exhibit and contest remain extremely important to the club and the community.
“Have no fear, this show will continue,” she said.
Winning places in this year’s art contest were: Sixth grade – first place, Kelsey Breasette, Robert Cross Middle School, “Sad Dog”; second place, Enrique Lucas, Robert Cross Middle, “Portrait (Boy)”; third place, Corey Smith, Lee County Middle, “Hands”; honorable mentions, Caitlyn Epperson, Robert Cross Middle, “Teen Idol”; Brandon Graham, Radium Springs Middle, “The Vision”; Pernando Marshall, Southside Middle, “Farmer”.
Seventh grade – first place, Jaida Hickey, Dougherty International Magnet, “The Love & the Passion”; second place, Ke’Ambrea Atkinson, Robert Cross Middle, “Rapper”; third place, Jeremy Coleman, Albany Middle, “Portrait of an Artist”; honorable mentions, Kaitlyn Stiles, Lee County Middle, lady; Dekovia Mathis, Lee County Middle, pencil (face).
Eighth grade – first place, Walter Butler, Dougherty International Magnet, “No Greater Love, Life, MLK”; second place, Eric Gardner, Albany Middle, “Morning Light”; third place, Emily Cole, Merry Acres Middle, “Fish”; honorable mentions, R’Kia Henry, Radium Springs Middle, “Free Falling”; Emily McPeters, Deerfield Windsor, “3-D Hand”; Brandon Mitchell, Robert Cross Middle; “James Brown”.
Ninth grade – first place, William Ashley, Deerfield Windson, “Chain Gang”; second place, Katy Brown, Westover High, “Angst”; third place, Shombie Williams, Westover High, “Parrott”; honorable mentions, Kwame Humphery, Westover High, “Broken, But Restored”; Marlee Skinner, Deerfield Windsor, “Hardly Hardware”; Diana Raulerson, Westover High, “Horse”.
Tenth grade – first place, Keyontae Keith, Dougherty High, “Celebrating Better Days”; second place, D’Mauriel Willis, Dougherty High, “Joyful Noise”; third place, Shonkeela Eady, Dougherty High, “And If I Can’t Save You”; honorable mentions, Amanda Wortham, Westover High, “The Last Something…”; Briauna Anglin, Westover High, untitled; Colin Entz, Lee County High, “After Party”; Demetrius Sexion, Monroe High, “4 Faces”; Phyl Fralick, Westover High, “Walk for Freedom”.
Eleventh grade – first place, Kelsey Swords, Albany High, “Torn Paper – Bob Marley”; second place, Brandon Rogers, Dougherty High, “Everlasting Hope”; third place, Khadijah Glover, Westover High, “Frustration”; honorable mentions, Layla Lewis, Lee County High, “Woodland Fairy”; Amos Lewis, Dougherty High, “Boy with Strong Appetite”; Shayla Henderson, Monroe High, “No Colored Allowed”; Essence Thomas, Albany High, “Pattern”; Trish McCutchen, Westover High, “Native American”.
Twelfth grade – first place, Kelsey Durham, Deerfield Windsor, “The Sticker”; second place, Sara Barge, Deerfield Windsor, “Tases Hand”; third place, Caleb Ebbetts, Lee County High, “Peeping Monkey”; honorable mentions, Kelsey Durham, Deerfield Windsor, “I Don’t Give a Hat”; Alisa Moody, Westover High, “Harper”; Kaitlin Whittle, Lee County High, “Escape from Supposed Destiny”.
PHOTOS BY DAVID SHIVERS
Dougherty County school superintendent Sally Whatley (facing away) receives an appreciation gift from school system art teachers, led by Barbie Fisher, for her support of the arts curriculum in education.
These winning entries along with other student works were on display at Albany Mall for a week in April.
