Reel Art contest winners announced
A student from Charleston recently took top honors as the overall
winner in South Carolina’s 2008 Reel Art contest, a competition sponsored
annually by the S.C. Department of Natural Resources and funded by the
Sportfish Restoration Fund.
Entries were judged in Columbia at S. C. Department of Natural Resources
(DNR) headquarters on March 7. The originals of the winning art will be
exhibited at the Palmetto Sportsmen’s Classic March 23-25 at the State
Fairgrounds in Columbia. Morgan Watts from Charleston County School for
the Arts in North Charleston received State Best of Show and a first-place
award in the Grades 7-9 category for her color pencil depiction of a
spotted bass which was titled simply "Spotted Bass."
Reel Art is a component of the DNR’s
SC Reel Kids aquatic education
program, supported with federal Sportfish Restoration Funds. Contact
Lorianne Riggin, DNR aquatic education coordinator, for more information
on the annual contest at (803) 737-8483 in Columbia.
Students from across the state submitted 664 entries to the South Carolina
Reel Art competition for 2008. Awards were given in each of four class
groups (K-3, 4-6, 7-9, 10-12), including one overall winner, a first
place, second place, third place and five honorable mention ribbons for
each class group. The overall winner is selected from among the four
first-place winners representing all four groups.
The best of show winner’s art teacher from North Charleston is Robert
Moore. Watts was awarded a $500 savings bond from the Harry Hampton
Memorial Wildlife Fund, fishing and art supplies and other prizes from
DNR. Other sponsors include Duke Power, Trout Unlimited-Chattooga River
Chapter, and Shakespeare. Everyone who enters gets a certificate and
sample art supplies.
Riggin says the Reel Art contest is a conservation education program
designed to give students in grades K-12 a chance to learn about the
diverse aquatic animals and aquatic habitats that exist in South Carolina,
while creating some extraordinary pieces of art.
Top placing entries in the Reel Art contest were:
Grades K-3
1st Caleb Brock, Pomaria-Garmany Elementary; 2nd Andrew Harrington,
Sonshine Homeschool; 3rd Diana Gutierrez, Pomaria-Garmany Elementary; Hon.
Mentions Nathan Abdo, Greenbrier Elementary; Noah Brown, Michael’s
Masterpieces; Rachel Dolleman, Greenbrier Elementary; Bethany Dupont,
Grace Christian School; Nicholas Martellini, Ballentine Elementary
Grades 4-6
1st Alison Waldman, Crossroads Middle School; 2nd Abby Rumph,
Charleston County School of the Arts; 3rd Ashley Graham, Greenwood
Elementary; Hon. Mentions Kristen Clark, Crossroads Middle School; Ethan
Hanson, Charleston County School of the Arts; Will Lanford, Campobello-Gramling
School; Tristan Maxum, Michael’s Masterpieces; Elishama True, William J.
Clark Middle School
Grades 7-9
Best of Show & 1st Morgan Watts, Charleston County School of the Arts; 2nd
Tre Raynor, Charleston County School of the Arts; 3rd Tiffany Holcombe,
Saluda Middle School; Hon. Mentions Austin Bell, Saluda Middle School;
Ryan Bing, Charleston County School of the Arts; Davina Feldes, William J.
Clark Middle School; Madison Jolly, Airport High School; Halen Wells,
Brookland Cayce High School
Grades 10-12
1st Kaitlin Hallman, Airport High School; 2nd Holly Able, Saluda High
School; 3rd Joshua Bienkoski, Airport High School; Hon. Mentions Simone
Dozier, Airport High School; Weston Fleming, Airport High School; Ashley
Kinsey, Airport High School; Qwame Wilson, Lakewood High School; Carina
Vargas, Hanahan High School; Chief’s Choice Elizabeth Bankert, Waccamaw
High School.
DNR protects and manages South Carolina’s natural resources by making
wise and balanced decisions for the benefit of the state’s natural
resources and its people.
