Young artists portray Glacier beauty
<p>Patrick Cote/Daily Inter Lake</p><p> </p><p>Brian Smith, left, talks with Denise Germann of Glacier National Park about his drawing of Many Glacier on Thursday afternoon at Glacier High School. For winning an artwork contest, Smith received a copy of “Glacier National Park: The First 100 Years” and a plaque. Smith’s artwork will be featured on the 2013 annual pass for Glacier Park.</p>
Student-produced art will appear on postcards and Glacier National Park’s annual pass.
The artwork was produced for a contest sponsored by Glacier Park and Glacier Association.
Winners of the postcard and park pass artwork contest were announced Thursday at a ceremony at Glacier High School, whose students swept the top three spots in the high school division.
“We are pleased to share and showcase the artwork of these students,” Glacier National Park Superintendent Chas Cartwright said in a news release. “Their images reflect the beauty of the park.”
Brian Smith, a senior at Glacier High School, submitted the winning entry in the high school category.
His image of Grinnell Point towering over Swiftcurrent Lake and the historic Many Glacier Hotel will be on the 2013 Glacier National Park Annual Pass.
This pass will be available in January 2013, and approximately 14,000 passes will be issued during the year.
The top three in the high school category — Smith, Jordan Freeman and Anna Porter — will receive gift certificates from the association.
Postcards available to the public will feature the first-place winning artwork in three age divisions from the first- through eighth-grade entries.
The free postcards will be available at Glacier Association bookstores in the park and at the historic train depot in West Glacier.
First- and second-place winners will receive gift certificates; third-place winners will receive books from the association.
This is the fourth year for the contest, but the first year that winning art will be displayed on the annual park pass.
According to Wendy Hill, Glacier Association executive director, “Through this art contest, we are creating future stewards, future caretakers of the park, to help ensure the longevity of this national treasure.”
Winning artwork may be viewed at the park’s website, www.nps.gov/glac, by clicking on the “For Kids” section. The contest for next year will be conducted in February.
Winners
Grades 1-2
Neil Bernal, Muldown School
Isabelle Axelsen, Peterson School
Paige Aubery, Peterson School
Grades 3-5
Christen Smith, home school
Maggie McKeon, West Glacier School
Sneha Sundar, Monarch School, Louisville, Colo.
Grades 6-8
Eileen Crusta, home school
Eric Daniels, Alta Dena School, Phoenix, Ariz.
Cailtyn Long, Columbia Falls Junior High
High School
Brian Smith, Glacier High School
Jordan Freeman, Glacier High School
Anna Porter, Glacier High School
Glacier Association, or Glacier Natural History Association, was established in 1946 and has provided more than 60 years of educational and interpretive support to the park.
The association operates the book sales areas in park visitor centers and ranger stations, and online. They carry a variety of publications and materials, including books, guides, maps, and DVDs that promote a better understanding of Glacier National Park’s diversity of landscapes, animal and plant life, culture, and history. Sales of the association’s materials help support the park’s educational, interpretive, cultural and scientific programming needs. Glacier Association is a nonprofit 501c3 cooperating association of the National Park Service and an officially recognized park partner of Glacier National Park. Visit www.glacierassociation.org for more information.