Hastings College Mural Competition

Last Wednesday, Mrs. Kylee Haba and art students from Lawrence-Nelson High School attended the 9th Annual Hastings College Mural Competition hosted by the Jackson Dinsdale Art Center on the Hastings College Campus. The mural competition is a day of artmaking for students across the state. Teams arrive on campus in the morning, set up their station, and prepare to receive the theme for the day. This year's theme was "Opposites," where students had to visually capture the beauty and juxtaposition of polar opposites through their design. Students are given 20 minutes of time away from their teachers for brainstorming, and then given from 10:20-2:30 to complete their 2'x5' banners. The hope for this event is to have the artwork created entirely without the help of their instructors, throughout creativity, composition and art technique.

Students who attended this year's competition included seniors, Addison McCloskey, Onja Myers and Emily Jacobitz; sophomores, Tiffany Gonzalez-Gamez and Riley Haba; and freshman, Victoria Koehler. This year's team came up with the idea of "War and Peace," showcasing a grungy grenade surrounded by beautiful flowers and calming colors. 

"I was impressed by how well the team worked together this year, quickly coming up with a design and working together to complete a cohesive and visually interesting piece that they were proud of," commented Mrs. Haba. There were many great pieces created on this day. "It is fun to go around and see what other schools come up with. You get to see different viewpoints and how other students from bigger schools work artistically," commented mural participants. Although the students from Lawrence-Nelson did not place in the top three teams, they felt good about their finished piece and confident that they completed towards the top of the group. The students and Mrs. Haba look forward to this event every year, and are already preparing a team for next year.