By Robert Williams

Editor

Three sixth grade artists from Frazee-Vergas Elementary School were honored by the four area Lions Clubs for their work in the Lions International Peace Poster competition on Friday, Jan. 12.

Lions Clubs around the globe have been sponsoring the art contest in schools and youth groups for the past three decades. More 600,000 young people worldwide share their vision of world peace each year.

This year’s theme was “Dare to Dream.”

The three winners were Klaira Carrier, Kyleigh Hardy and Coltyn Pender.

“We spent a lot of time on this and I asked them, was it worth the amount of time we put into it?” said elementary art instructor Linda Beilke. “Every single sixth grader raised their hands. They said, ‘absolutely.’”

Beilke helps her students formulate a way to both interpret and express the project’s theme.

“We talk a lot about it and I show them what the international champions were the year before and I try to pull up everything I can,” Beilke said.

As part of class curriculum, the students discuss the theme, its meaning and how to bring it to life in composition.

“How do you tie it all together? That’s the hard thing,” said Beilke.

Each student is also asked to provide their personal thoughts on the aspect of peace.

“I was impressed with what they wrote,” said organizer Elaine Palmer.

“Peace is replacing hate and judgment with love and kindness,” said Hardy.

“Peace is loving, without it the world would be full of wars. We want to be together with one another to live in harmony. Peace is when we protect others and us,” Carrier said.

“Peace means to be kind and compassionate to others. To have no fear or violence. Freedom where there is no war or fighting,” said Pender.

Students spend a significant amount of time on the projects, upwards of six weeks.

“The elementary art curriculum is based on Minnesota state art standards and this project covers and reinforces several different areas within this one project,” Beilke said. “It is a required project for my class and is part of their first trimester grade in addition to getting a grade for their brainstorming list and planning sheet. Students are not required to enter the contest, however are encouraged to do so, as it is a great program and students who win get recognition for their hard work and cash prizes. We look at a slideshow of posters and how posters are meant to send a clear message that can be understood by many age levels. We then discuss what each student wants their poster to communicate.”

The artwork is sent to the four area Lions Clubs in Frazee, Vergas, Wolf Lake and Four Corners for judging. Winners are awarded monetary prizes with the first place winner having his or her artwork sent on to a multiple district level in St. Cloud.

Each poster is judged on originality, artistic merit, and expression of the theme. Entries advance through several judging levels: local, district, multiple district, and international. An overall multiple district winner is then selected, and submitted for the international judging stage.

At the international level, judges from the art, peace, youth, education, and media communities select one grand prize winner and 23 merit award winners.

The three winning pieces of art, along with the rest of the sixth grade creations for the project will be on display locally in March at the Frazee Spring Arts Festival at the Frazee High School main gymnasium. The Arts Festival has been moved from its original date to Thursday, March 14.

For more information on the contest visit www.lionsclubs.org/peaceposter and Lions International encourages students and families to share their art on social media by using the hashtag #peaceposter