Yosemite, CA – Students from all over the Yosemite National Park Gateway Communities picked up their color pencils, paintbrushes and cameras to compete for top honors in an annual art contest.
There was a total of seven winners from Mother Lode schools including six from Belleview and one from Twain Harte Elementary. In fact, Belleview students swept the “4h – 5th Grade Art” category (You can find their names below in the list of winners.) Mariposa County schools also took home plenty of awards.
Last month, the park held its 2019 Gateway Expressions Student Art and Photography Contest at the Ansel Adams Gallery. Park spokesperson Jamie Richards details, “The theme is anything that is connected to Yosemite in the area. So, it could be natural history, cultural history; anything that the student was inspired to do.”
The contest is open to all students, grades TK (Transitional Kindergarten) to 12th, who live in the gateway communities of the park. The winners were chosen by park employees and partners and then displayed at The Ansel Adams Gallery.
This year there was an abundance of submissions as Richards relays, “We had 241 submissions from students from all of our gateways across the region and it was a really great year. There was some phenomenal artwork.”
Below are the 2019 contest winners. The local winners are in bold:
TK Art:
1st Place (Tie): Sutsie Ludwig, “The Picture of Half Dome,” Yosemite Valley School and Hannah Miyako, “El Cap,” Yosemite Valley School
2nd Place: Benjamin Peterson, “Looking at a Waterfall,” Yosemite Valley School
3rd Place: Rylann Burkling, “Colored Pencil Drawing,” Belleview Elementary School
Kindergarten-1st Grade Art:
1st Place: Kaytlyn Frabotta, “The Falls,” Mountain Home School
2nd Place: Jude Johnson, “Tenaya Peak,” Yosemite Valley School
3rd Place: Eliana Costa, “Rainbow Waterfall,” Rivergold Elementary School
Honorable Mention: Yizhong Niu, “Pity on the Farmers,” Oakhurst Elementary School
Honorable Mention: Penelope Phillips, “Sequoia,” El Portal Elementary School
2nd-3rd Grade Art
1st Place: Thatcher Ludwig, “Starry Night,” Yosemite Valley School
2nd Place: Judy McBrayer, “The Howling Coyote,” Yosemite Valley School
3rd Place: Jack Killian, “A Night Up the Cables,” Yosemite Valley School
Honorable Mention: Whitney Marcis, Night Sky Half Dome, Yosemite Valley School
Honorable Mention: Pyper Mitchell, “Yosemite Stables,” El Portal Elementary School
Honorable Mention: Atheena Palmieri, “My Beautiful Tree,” Lake Don Pedro Elementary School
4th-5th Grade Art:
1st Place: Sofia Olavarria, “Sunset at Cathedral Peak,” Belleview Elementary School
2nd Place: Elyse Groff, “California Coyote Forest Tree Mix,” Twain Harte School
3rd Place: Leyla Vega, “Reptiles and Amphibians of Yosemite,” Belleview Elementary School
Honorable Mention: Aryannah Frabotta, “Fall in Yosemite,” Mountain Home School
Honorable Mention: Leroy Portillo, “The Bridge I Love to Ride Bikes on With My Family,” Belleview Elementary School
6th-8th Grade Art
1st Place: Haillie Nielsen, “In the Mind of a Child,” John Muir Academy
2nd Place: Krista Fields, “Water Colored Redwood Trees,” Don Pedro Elementary School
3rd Place: Izibella Reyes, “Natural Beauty,” Belleview Elementary
Honorable Mention: Rya Salonen, “Dazzling Half Dome,” Sierra Foothill Charter School
Honorable Mention: Anthony Boyer, “Stars,” Yosemite Valley School
9th-12th Grade Art
1st Place: Bethanny Sanchez, “A Light to the Darkness,” Yosemite High School & Evergreen High School
2nd Place: Michelle Keeling, “Yosemite’s Spring Day,” Yosemite High School
3rd Place: Emma Blomgren, “Giant Sequoia ‘Wawona’ Tree 1910’s,” Yosemite High School
Honorable Mention: Anna Blomgren, “Sunset Over the Valley,” Yosemite High School
Honorable Mention: Megan Meyer, “A Glimpse of Yosemite,” Yosemite High School
Honorable Mention: Clover Cicoletti, “Inyo National Forest,” Yosemite High School
Group Art
1st Place: “Yosemite Love,” Lee Vining Elementary School
2nd Place: “Yosemite Firefall Glacier Point,” Belleview Elementary School
Photography 6th-8th
1st Place: Jaeyanna Bolar, “Trees in the Fall,” Sierra Foothill Charter School
2nd Place: Lacey Archer, “Annual Family Float,” Wasuma Elementary School
3rd Place: Josiah Hobbs, “#BonAppetit,” Mountain Home Charter School
Honorable Mention: Tryniti Takash, “Peace in the Meadows,” Lake Don Pedro Elementary School
Honorable Mention: Mekynzie Alves, “Birthday Celebration in Yosemite,” Greeley Hill Elementary School
Special Awards:
Yosemite Award: Emma Blomgren, “Giant Sequoia ‘Wawona’ Tree 1910’s,” Yosemite High School
Ansel Adams Award: Michelle Keeling, “Yosemite’s Spring Day,” Yosemite High School
