Wordcrafters Festival this Weekend

Saturday, March 5th

Be Writing: Wordcrafters Writing Festival

8:30 am – 7:00 pm, UO Baker Center Downtown, 975 High Street, Eugene

Oakridge High Students Featured in NewArt Northwest Kids

L-R: Kyla Wilder, Gage Burton, and Melissa Rouska

Three students from Oakridge School District have been selected to display their artwork at the 2016 NewArt Northwest Kids exhibition at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art (JSMA). The art in the exhibit was selected via a juried competition, which received 247 submissions united by the theme, “The Road Not Taken.” Kyla Wilder, Gage Burton, and Melissa Rouska submitted their work at the urging of their art teacher, Bev Isacksen.

Rainbow Road by Kyla Wilder

Wilder described her submission, Rainbow Road, as a self-portrait on a cloud. “Each cloud represents an experience that influenced my art,” she said. From early drawings and video games to her tight-knit friendships, the clouds surround and support the central figure of the artist.

Keep Portland Weird by Melissa Rouska

Rouska, who moved to Oakridge from Portland three months ago, expressed her love for her former home in her piece Keep Portland Weird. “You can’t see that many stars in Portland,” she said, “but I drew it the way I like to imagine it.”

Contrast by Gage Burton

Burton shows the dichotomy between urban and rural in Contrast. Drawn entirely in black, the city skyline and streets morph into trees and mountains.  “I do all my art in black,” said Burton. “I just prefer it that way.”

STELLAR is proud to congratulate these three young people on receiving recognition for their excellent work. Rouska, Burton, and Wilder, along with the 44 other young artists selected for the exhibition, will be honored at a reception at JSMA on May 21.

For more information about NewArt Northwest Kids, visit jsma.uoregon.edu/NANK2016.