Winners of Statewide Art Competition Announced!

The State Botanical Garden of Georgia is pleased to announce the winners of their 2010 Art Competition. This competition is sponsored by the J.A. and H.G. Woodruff, Jr. Charitable Trust to recognize student talent and create signature items for the Garden’s Gift Shop. Funding for this competition not only awards significant cash prizes to students throughout the state, but the Garden is then able to use this artwork to create signature pieces that can only be purchased at the Garden Gift Shop. Eighty-seven entries were received by Georgia students 9th grade and above.

First place winner Elizabeth Nixon is a UGA senior studying Ecology and Scientific Illustration. “I've spent many hours wandering through the botanical garden, and though I have seen a vast collection of plants and animals from around the world, I am most fascinated by the native flora and fauna of Georgia. I hoped to show that in my art by researching the types of plants, animals and fungi found in the area and using that in my paintings. Georgia has the highest number and greatest diversity of amphibian species of all the United States, and is a contender for the state with the most species of turtles. I wanted to show that though birds and mammals are charismatic and very noble creatures, it is our overlooked herpetofauna that are what make Georgia truly a gem of biodiversity." Accompanying the painting "Come Out of Your Shell" was a list of scientific names for all species shown: eastern box turtle, spotted touch-me-not, endemic psylocybe mushroom, black raspberry, ox-eye daisy, globular drop snail, and seven-spotted ladybeetle. Nixon also won a certificate of merit for another entry. Second place and both third place prizes were awarded to high school students.

Now that the winners are chosen, Gift Shop manager Susan Cooper will determine how to use this art to create signature items, such as T-shirts, totes, scarves, stationery, and more to sell in the Garden Gift Shop. “We have many handmade pieces created by local artists and by volunteers who gather together to craft items to sell in our gift shop. The objects created from the winning art will complement our selection of unique, garden-themed items.”

Congratulations to our winners:

First Place, $1,000:

• “Come Out of your Shell at the Botanical Garden” - watercolor by Elizabeth Nixon, University of Georgia (Athens)

Second Place, $500:

• "Inversion" - watercolor and ink by Katie Siegel, Collins Hill High School (Suwanee)

Third Place, $250:

• "Unnamed" - acrylic by Kristen Pack, Wesleyan School (Norcross)

• "Together" - photo by Julie Rodriguez, Wesleyan School (Norcross)

Certificate of Merit, $100:

• "Owl Tree" - ballpoint pen by Elise Longnecker, Georgia Gwinnett College (Lawrenceville)
• "Bufo americanus" - watercolor by Elizabeth Nixon, University of Georgia (Athens)

Honorable Mention:

• "Pod" - charcoal by Julia Timms, Gainesville State College (Watkinsville)
• "Grasshopper" - photo by Evan Anderson, Wesleyan School (Norcross)
• "Leaf" - photo by Jake Cusick, Wesleyan School (Norcross)
• "Breeze" - photo by Robyn Johnson, University of Georgia (Athens)
• "Yellow" - acrylic by Adriana Galvez, Wesleyan School (Norcross)
• "Forgotten Hope" - handmade paper by Corey Masccida, Cross Keys High School (Atlanta)
• "Daisy" - photo by Emily Howell, Wesleyan School (Norcross)