PRINT ADS

This year the artwork at Viking Elementary in Holmen was so good, it was extremely difficult to pick just one fifth-grader as Artist of the Year. So instead, they picked three.

Mai Nou Lee, Caleb Ellis and Bekah Risch were chosen for the Artist of the Year Award this year, their three works of art chosen from among 47 finalists for the honor.

The annual honor usually goes to just one student, whose art is framed and displayed at the school until that student graduates. At that point, the framed work is returned to the student.

“Many of the comments that I heard from the staff were that there were just too many great art works to pick just one and that the variety of art made it very difficult to choose,” said art teacher Jennifer Grass. “I would have to agree with them. It was hard to pick just 47 for that exact same reason.”

In the end, the staff members chose a print, a contour line drawing and an architectural drawing for recognition. To Grass, though, a lot more of the young artists at the school were deserving of honors.

“I believe that each piece of artwork that is made with care and individual style is a masterpiece, and I hope that every fifth-grader can leave Viking knowing that they created something absolutely amazing,” she said.

In addition to the school award, Viking student Jill Kresen also was named the winner of the American Legion Patriotic Art Contest and was presented the award at the end-of-the-year school assembly by Greg Haug, American Legion first vice commander for La Crosse County.