Laura Dean Bennett
Staff Writer
For more than four decades – since the 1980s – the Marlinton Woman’s Club has hosted the Evening With the Arts.
This annual event – a student art show featuring the work of middle and high school students – is held every spring in the Pocahontas County Opera House.
Marlinton Woman’s Club president Debbie Gale explained why the club has kept the event as an annual fixture on its calendar.
“Since the club began, more than a hundred years ago, the Marlinton Woman’s Club has been concerned with the welfare of the young people of Pocahontas County. That will never change,” Gale said.
“We’re proud of our students’ creativity and we’re so delighted to share their accomplishments with the community.”
This year the Evening with the Arts took place May 2. The show was well attended by the artists and their families, as well as the public.
Everyone enjoyed perusing the art, meeting and greeting each other and sampling the appetizers and desserts.
Last year was the first time the Evening with Arts was held in conjunction with the season’s first First Friday festivities at Discovery Junction.
First Friday features music by local talent on the Discovery Junction stage along with other family friendly festivities, on the first Friday of each month during the summer season.
Combining the two events enabled guests to enjoy both the Evening with the Arts and the First Friday activities.
The Evening with the Arts featured 23 categories of art, with a total of 49 artists representing Green Bank Elementary- Middle School, Marlinton Middle School and Pocahontas County High School.
“Such an enthusiastic response by the student artists is a credit to the encouragement and dedication of the schools’ art teachers – that’s Cammy Kesterson at Green Bank Elementary- Middle School, Wendy Kirk at Marlinton Middle School and Diane Nelson at Pocahontas County High School,” Cynthia Gurerri, vice-president of the Pocahontas County Art Council, said.
First, second and third place awards – including cash prizes – were presented to the winning artists by the Woman’s Club. Blue ribbon winners are eligible to take part in the Greater Federation of Woman’s Clubs’ art show at their fall conference.
The art was judged by three independent judges – Dawn Baldwin, Karen Robinson and Cynthia Gurerri.
In addition to vying for ribbons and cash prizes, the student artists were allowed – for the first time – to sell their work.
“By allowing the students to sell their art, we are hoping to teach them that their creativity has value – real, quantifiable value” Gale said.
“Maybe some of them will even go on to have a career in art,” she added with a smile.
Show results are as follows:
Middle School
Beta Fish – first place, Rayna Kerr; second place, Karli Boyd; and third place, Moriah Thompson.
Tim Burton Inspired Selfies – first place, Dazja Brown; second place, Mitchell Koerber; and third place, Isabella McClure.
Cityscape – first place, Chloe Woody; second place, Hunter Lundmark; and third place, Nicole Strader.
Value Still Life – first place, Zack Mason; second place, Ayla Fanning; and third place, Will Shifflett.
Flower Portrait – first place, Bella Barr; second place, Nicole Strader; and third place, Zara Fanning.
Zentangle – first place, William Lundbloom; second place, Jolene Workman; and third place, Tyler Friel.
Miscellaneous – first place, Hailee Sewell; second place, A.J. Bauserman; and third place, Rayna Kerr.
Weaving – first place, John David; second place, Brantley Cox; and third place, Ava Fields.
Dragon Eyes – first place, Payden Kerr; second place, Natalie Irvine; and third place, A.J. Bauserman.
Sunflowers – first place, Beth McClure; second place, Hunter Hefner; and third place, Makayla Woody.
Leaves in oils, pastels and colored pencil – first place, Noah Sharp; second place, Liam Sutton; and third place, Madelyn Rittenhouse.
Leaf Prints – first place, Hailee Sewell; second place, Joey McClure; and third place, Dazja Brown.
Neurographic – first place, Lily Barr; second place, Zara Fanning; and third place, Ezra Bond.
Complimentary Color Fruit – first place, Khloe Gainer; second place, Zara Fanning; and third place, Chloe Arnutt.
High School
Watercolor – first place, Alivia Underwood; and second and third place, Shealynn Plaugher.
Scratchboard – first place, Emily Dotson; second place, Harley Brown; and third place, Taylor Arnold.
Acrylic – first place, Nathanael Barkley; second place, Courtney Waugh; and third place, Morgan Armstrong.
Color Pencil – first place, Max Creamer; second place, Duncan Sizemore; and third place, Emily Dotson.
Pencil – first place, Harley Brown; second place, Eden Smith; and third place, Morgan Armstrong.
Mixed Media – first place, Eden Smith; second place, Emily Dotson; and third place, Morgan Armstrong.
Tempera – first place, Mallory Koerber; second place, Grace Flaubert; and third place, Ree Anna Alderman.
Marker Pen – first place, Mallory Koerber; second place, Morgan Armstrong; and third place, Max Creamer.
Oil Pastel – first place, Sherry Walker; second place, Kielle Rohrbaugh; and third place, Colt Cook.
