The Niagara History Center held a reception June 28 to honor 13 young artists who submitted entries in the museum’s Erie Canal 200th Anniversary Student Art Contest.
The entrants, students in grades 2 through 6, created scenes of the Erie Canal in Niagara County on paper, canvas, poster board and foam core, using paint, crayons, markers, pencil and glitter. Their entries are on exhibit at the history center, 215 Niagara St., through Aug. 1.
The entries, judged by local artist Manning McCandlish, History Center Education Coordinator Ann Marie Linnabery, and History Center summer intern Gabriella Smith, were deemed exceptional for the ages of the artists, who employed many unique styles and interesting elements. Each artist received a certificate, a ribbon and an art kit.
The artists and their works are:
• Daniella Blanton, fourth grader at Regan Intermediate (Starpoint), Autumn Bliss. Daniella’s watercolor on paper was judged “Best Impressionist Style Depiction of the Erie Canal.”
• Ellyanna Borton, second grader at Anna Merritt Elementary, 4th of July. Ellyanna’s mixed media artwork on paper was judged “Most Realistic Feeling of Being on the Canal.”
• Teagan Bretherton, third grader at Regan Intermediate (Starpoint), The Big Bridge [North Tonawanda]. Teagan’s pencil on paper drawing was judged “Best Depiction of a Railroad Bridge Over the Erie Canal.”
• Emma Cadwallader, sixth grader at Edward Town Middle School (Niagara Wheatfield), Evening on the Canal. Emma’s watercolor on canvas was judged “Best View of the Erie Canal Between Two Bridges.”
• Abigail Churchill, fifth grader, Sunrise Over the Locks. Abigail’s digital marker art printed on foam core was judged “Best 3-D Perspective of the Erie Canal.”
• Graeme Garcia, fifth grader at Emmet Belknap Intermediate School, Lock 3 Sunset. Graeme’s artwork employing markers, colored pencils and watercolor on paper was judged “Best Depiction of the Erie Barge Canal Lock at Lockport.”
• Rowan Garcia, third grader at George Southard Elementary, Upside Down Bridge. Rowan’s artwork employing markers, colored pencils and watercolor on paper was judged “Most Action-Packed Scene on the Erie Canal.”
• Eliana Gotowko, third grader at Regan Intermediate (Starpoint), Great Erie. Eliana’s watercolor and colored pencil on paper artwork was judged “Best Aerial View of the Erie Canal.”
• Konstantine Kudryavtsev, third grader at George Southard Elementary, The Most Beautiful Views by the Erie Canal. Konstantine’s painting on canvas was judged “Best Distance View of the Erie Canal.”
• Milan Moody, fifth grader at Emmet Belknap Intermediate, Look at the World Differently. Milan’s acrylic painting on canvas was judged “Best Interpretation of the Erie Canal at Night.”
• Mason Slack, third grader at Regan Intermediate (Starpoint), Feigle Road. Mason’s Crayola on paper artwork was judged “Best Use of Geometric Shapes to Create a Canal Scene.”
• Harrison Till, second grader at Newfane Elementary, The Erie Canal Boat. Harrison’s oil pastel and paint on canvas artwork was judged “Best Depiction of Lockport’s Deep Cut.”
• Livia Wythe, second grader at Hyde Park Elementary (Niagara Falls), Lady of the Canal. Livia’s marker on paper artwork was judged “Best Depiction of a Historic Person of the Erie Canal Era.”
The Niagara History Center’s Erie Canal bicentennial children’s programming, including the student art show and the upcoming Erie Canal Family Fun Day on Aug. 16, are partially funded through a grant from Cornerstone Community Federal Credit Union.