Local Students Recognized in Yosemite Art Contest

Yosemite National Park photo

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