March 5, 2020
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Nine young artists have been selected as winners in the annual Congressional Art Competition, which is on display in the Balcony Gallery of the Culture Center, State Capitol Complex in Charleston through April 20. The exhibition is sponsored by the West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History (WVDACH), in partnership with the West Virginia Congressional Delegation.
On Friday, Feb. 28, WVDACH Director of Museums Charles Morris and Cailin Howe, exhibits coordinator, welcomed guests and introduced Susie Azevedo, representing Congressman Alex Mooney and Madison Stone, representing Congresswoman Carol Miller.
First-place awards were presented to Jayda Marie Aucoin, Parkersburg High School, Wood County, District 1; Rowan Phelps, Musselman High School, Berkeley County, District 2; and Elsa Meade,Huntington High School, Cabell County, District 3. The first-place winners received a $100 gift certificate from BLICK Art Materials, and their work will represent West Virginia in a yearlong Congressional Art Competition exhibition at the United States Capitol Building in Washington, D.C.
An additional six second and third-place winners received awards – Nathan Windom, Ritchie County High School, Ritchie County, District 1, Second Place; Paige Ramsey,Nitro High School, Kanawha County, District 2; Second Place; Thomas Phillips, Pikeview High School, Mercer County, District 3, Second Place; Edith Limon,Robert C. Byrd High School, Harrison County, District 1, Third Place; Layla Grace Goff-Russell, Nitro High School, Kanawha County, District 2, Third Place; and Peyton Ingels, Wahama Jr./Sr. High School, Mason County, District 3, Third Place. Second and third-place winners received a $50 gift certificate from BLICK Art Materials.
The Congressional Art Exhibition consists of 101 pieces by 90 students, grades 9-12, from 15 West Virginia counties. These entries were selected from 211 submissions. All winners were selected by the West Virginia State Arts Office.
Each spring, the Congressional Institute sponsors a nationwide high school visual-art competition to recognize and encourage artistic talent in the nation and in each congressional district. Since the competition began in 1982, more than 650,000 high school students have participated. The competition is sponsored by members of the United States Congress.
A complete list of students whose work is included in the exhibition is below.
For more information, contact Cailin Howe, exhibits coordinator for the department, at (304) 558-0220 or cailin.a.howe@wv.gov.
2020 Congressional Youth Art Competition Exhibit (listed by district and county)
DISTRICT 1
HANCOCK COUNTY
Oak Glen High School
Art Teacher: Elissa Greathouse
Ally Severs (Grade 10)
Bibby Eyelash - Graphite
Halee Stevens (Grade 11)
Prince - Graphite
HARRISON COUNTY
Bridgeport High School
Art Teacher: Courtney Rankin
Madison Seti (Grade 12)
Terrestrial Inheritance - Mixed Media
Inhale, Exhale - Mixed Media
Sarah Rajjoub (Grade 10)
Shadowful Curtain - Mixed Media
Brooke Wagner (Grade 12)
Coffee Toad - Coffee
Liberty High School
Art Teacher: Brianna Saddler
Katerina Boyer (Grade 11)
Into the Light - Digital Art
Sarah French (Grade 12)
Scream - Mixed Media
Jimmie Lane (Grade 12)
MKUltra - Digital Art
Robert C. Byrd High School
Art Teacher: Katy Crim
Samantha Beall (Grade 9)
Strike a Match – Bleach
Katie Brackman (Grade 11)
An Open Book - Mixed Media
Alexis Brannon (Grade 12)
Violin Virtuoso II - Collage
Edith Limon (Grade 10)
*Shopping Mania - Scratchboard (2nd Place)
Lela Odom (Grade 10)
Trap Door - Mixed Media
Izzy Simmons (Grade 10)
Misfit - Mixed Media
Leea Swiger (Grade 11)
Cacti Patch - Scratchboard
RITCHIE COUNTY
Ritchie County High School
Art Teacher: Ruth Ellen Windom
Nathan Windom (Grade 12)
*Dog Mountain – Acrylic (3rd Place)
WOOD COUNTY
Parkersburg High School
Art Teacher: Michele Binegar
Morgan Barchett (Grade 12)
Lovely - Digital Art
Chris Farson (Grade 11)
Save the Bees - Pen and ink
Evelyn Gesell (Grade 12)
Peace and Balance - Digital Art
Taryn Johnson (Grade 10)
Appeeling - Digital Art
Rose Kozak (Grade 11)
Coup d'etat - Digital Art
>Art Teacher: Katherine Hushion
Jayda Marie Aucoin (Grade 12)
* Smoky - Colored Pencil (1st Place)
Haunted Assault - Mixed Media
Sydney Eakins (Grade 12)
Scattered - Graphite
Connor Galloway (Grade 12)
Dog - Copic Marker
Romeo Malone (Grade 9)
Monster in the Classroom - Watercolor and pen
Madison McHugh (Grade 12)
A Witch's Workshop - Watercolor and ink
Riley McLaughlin (Grade 10)
Cold Fall - Acrylic
Madelyn Plum (Grade 12)
Bedroom - Watercolor and gouache
Still-Life in Green - Acrylic
Karissa Quillen (Grade 11)
Charcoal Self Portrait - Mixed Media
Sarah Woofter (Grade 12)
Chips and Guac - Oil on yupo paper
Them - Oil on canvas
Art Teacher: Emma Romanowski
Emily Jane Williams (Grade 12)
Green - Colored pencil and gel pen
Mackenzie Willis (Grade 11)
Daliah - Acrylic
Art Teacher: Miranda Wilson
Trinity Yoak (Grade 12)
Woman in Veil - Pen, ink, and charcoal
Lion - Acrylic
DISTRICT 2
BERKELEY COUNTY
Musselman High School
Art Teacher: Melissa Burton
Javier Bravo (Grade 10)
Apple - Photography
Kaitlyn DeVoll (Grade 10)
After the Rain - Photography
Purple Flowers – Photography
Haylee Harding (Grade 11)
New Perspective – Watercolor
Jayelynn Haynes (Grade 11)
Ares - Photography
Rowan Phelps (Grade 12)
*Pierside - Watercolor (1st Place)
Jillian Timberlake (Grade 10)
Red Record - Photography
Brigette Ware (Grade 10)
Mount Storm, WV - Photography
KANAWHA COUNTY
Capital High School
Art Teacher: Christina Frye
Jules Goffaux (Grade 11)
Eyes of Freedom - Charcoal and pen
Olivia Massey (Grade 11)
He - Charcoal
Israel Wright (Grade 12)
Keeping the Peace - Graphite
Hell's True Fury - Digital Art
George Washington High School
Art Teacher: Christy Pennington
Riley Elliott (Grade 11)
Space Girls - Colored pencil and pen
Cadence Fowler (Grade 9)
Feeling Blue - Alcohol Markers
Madilyn McGlothen (Grade 9)
Bird in Flight - Yarn
Heidi Mundy (Grade 9)
Pattern Girl - Watercolor
Jessica Tenney (Grade 10)
La Cierva - Yarn
Lorelei Wright (Grade 9)
Desert Skies - Watercolor
Nitro High School
Art Teacher: Danielle Hunt
Jordan Cooper (Grade 10)
Mixed Media Portrait - Mixed Media
Delaney Corlis (Grade 10)
Capital Street - Oil Pastel
Alexis Fauber (Grade 12)
Green Girl - Colored pencil and ink
Layla Grace Goff-Russell (Grade 12)
Portrait of a Woman - Acrylic and
*Mushroom Block Print - Printmaking and ink (3rd Place)
Lina Nordahl (Grade 12)
Shattered Drawing - Pencil
Eden Rae Pauley (Grade 12)
Graphic Line Drawing - Ink
Paige Ramsey (Grade 11)
*Pink Gelli Plate – Printmaking (2nd Place)
Madison Roberts (Grade 12)
Paper Cut Out Face - Paper
Amy Welch (Grade 12)
Venice - Colored pencil and watercolor
Line Drawing Collage - Mixed Media
Riverside High School
Art Teacher: Casey Sundahl
Haleigh Reed (Grade 10)
Mountain Mamma - Acrylic
PUTNAM COUNTY
Poca High School
Art Teacher: Cathy Thomas
Jada R. Morris (Grade 11)
Cool Shadows - Mixed Media
DISTRICT 3
CABELL COUNTY
Huntington High School
Art Teacher: Brianne Allen
Elsa Meade (Grade 9)
*Birds with Rocks - Scratchboard (1st Place)
Charity Stradwick (Grade 11)
The Fun of Being a Sister - Pencil
Ava Thornburg (Grade 10)
Color of Emotions – Print
Art Teacher: Diana Frazier
Anna Perella (Grade 11)
L'uomo Perfetto – Acrylic
Emma Pittman (Grade 11)
A Spike of Life - Photography
Selena Ritchie (Grade 12)
Mantis Gaze - Photography
FAYETTE COUNTY
Meadow Bridge High School
Art Teacher: Tonya Mills
Bethanie Brown (Grade 10)
The Midnight Hunt - Colored Pencil
Maggie Gunter (Grade 7)
A Mirror's Story - Oil Pastel
Jared Ramirez (Grade 10)
Fish - Ink on paper
LOGAN COUNTY
Chapmanville Regional High School
Art Teacher: Karen Amick-Adkins
Macy Belcher (Grade 9)
Untitled - Watercolor
Adeana Johnson (Grade 11)
Beware - Mixed Media
Heather Murphy (Grade 12)
Samantha - Acrylic
MASON COUNTY
Wahama Jr./Sr. High School
Art Teacher: Susan Parrish
Emma Gibbs (Grade 11)
Ricky - Linocut Printmaking
Peyton Ingels (Grade 10)
*Please Give Me Some Seratonin - Mixed Media (3rd Place)
Kylee M. VanMeter (Grade 9)
Portrait of Grandfather - Acrylic
MERCER COUNTY
Pikeview High School
Art Teacher: Katrina Runyon
Thomas Phillips (Grade 12)
Benevolent Pollinator - Photography and
*Macabre Greetings - pen and ink (2nd Place)
NICHOLAS COUNTY
Nicholas County High School
Art Teacher: Pamela Cox
Makala Alderman (Grade 12)
Untitled - Mixed Media
Cameron Thomas (Grade 12)
Wildflowers - Colored Pencil
Richwood Middle/High School
Art Teacher: Kim Garrison-Brown
Cierah Webb (Grade 11)
Bella and Kane – Charcoal
RALEIGH HIGH SCHOOL
Liberty High School
Art Teacher: Tonja Raines
Kaiden Phillips (Grade 10)
Grandpa's Hot Vintage Ride - Mixed Media
Rose - Graphite
Madison Williams (Grade 11)
Summertime Sadness - Mixed Media
WAYNE COUNTY
Spring Valley High School
Art Teacher: Sara Tess Hager
Leigha Barrett (Grade 12)
Red Selfie - Acrylic
Emma Blatt (Grade 12)
Bottles - Colored Pencil
Brianna Bowen (Grade 10)
Steel-Mind - Graphite
C.J. Preece (Grade 12)
Inner Cosmos – Collage
Chylee Straley (Grade 12)
Shattered - Mixed Media
WEBSTER COUNTY
Webster County High School
Art Teacher: Pam Hall
Emma Lea Conley (Grade 11)
Agatanahi (Wise) – Acrylic
Nichola Dominguez (Grade 11)
Do You See the Nature? - Charcoal
Holley Morrison (Grade 12)
Tranquility - Mixed Media
Olivia Payne (Grade 10)
Hazel Reflection - Acrylic
PHOTO CUTLINES:
PHOTO 1: Youth Congressional Art Competition District 1 First Place winner Jayda Marie Aucoin, Parkersburg High School, Wood County (l), with Cailin Howe, WVDACH exhibits coordinator. Photograph courtesy of the West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History.
PHOTO 2: Youth Congressional Art Competition District 1 Second Place winner Nathan Windom, Ritchie County High School, Ritchie County (l), with Cailin Howe, WVDACH exhibits coordinator. Photograph courtesy of the West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History.
PHOTO 3: Youth Congressional Art Competition District 2 First Place winner Rowan Phelps, Musselman High School, Berkeley County (r), with Susie Azevedo, representative for Congressman Alex Mooney. Photograph courtesy of the West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History.
PHOTO 4: Youth Congressional Art Competition District 2 Second Place winner Paige Ramsey, Nitro High School, Kanawha County (center), with Susie Azevedo, representative for Congressman Alex Mooney (left) and Cailin Howe, WVDACH exhibits coordinator (right). Photograph courtesy of the West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History.
PHOTO 5: Youth Congressional Art Competition District 2 Third Place winner Layla Grace Goff-Russell, Nitro High School, Kanawha County (r), with Susie Azevedo, representative for Congressman Alex Mooney. Photograph courtesy of the West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History.
PHOTO 6: Youth Congressional Art Competition District 3 First Place winner Elsa Meade, Huntington High School, Cabell County (r), with Madison Stone, representative for Congressman Carol Miller. Photograph courtesy of the West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History.
PHOTO 7: Youth Congressional Art Competition District 3 Second Place winner Thomas Phillips, Pikeview High School, Mercer County (r), with Madison Stone, representative for Congressman Carol Miller. Photograph courtesy of the West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History.
More photos from the event can be found at https://zenfolio.page.link/jPJVD
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