2014 youth arts in the parks art contest exhibit

Date: April 2, 2014
Contact: Jodi French-Burr, 304-465-2632

Youth artist Ethan Sisk, a 1st grader from Fayetteville, creates a painting of Carolina silverbells

Sonya Wood

Glen Jean, West Virginia, March 31, 2014—Flowers are blooming and spring is in the air. Check out how local studentscelebrate the glories of springtime in Appalachia through art at the Youth Arts in the Parks exhibit at Tamarack throughout April. In partnership with Tamarack and the school systems of Fayette, Nicholas, Raleigh, and Summers counties, New River Gorge National River sponsored an art contest for area students in grades K – 12. Students learned about the region's wildflowers and Appalachian ecology while they created art using watercolors, oil pastels, pencils, clay, paper, and more.

The creativity and artistic talents of the student participants yielded amazing works inspired by wildflowers of southern West Virginia. Three-hundred eighty-three students from area public and private schools, homeschools, and private individuals participated in this year's contest. The top 55 juried pieces are showcased at Tamarack in Beckley from April 1^st– 28^th. The top five contest pieces are featured in Tamarack's David L. Dickirson Fine Art Gallery, for public sale alongside adult artists in theNatural Wonder: Art Inspired by the World Around Usart show. The works of the other 50 featured youth artists are on exhibit in the vestibules that lead to Tamarack's center courtyard. Tamarack is open daily from8:00 am to 8:00 pm. See the online version of this exhibit at www.nps.gov/neri.

Community members and visitors are all invited to visit Tamarack to see how nature in Appalachia inspires our youth. Don't let your explorations stop there, as this special exhibit is part to New River Gorge Wildflower Weekend, a free public event scheduled for Friday, April 25^ththrough Sunday, April 27^th, 2014. This fun, free event celebrates spring in Appalachia and the diverse ecology of our local region, a public lands partnership between New River Gorge National River, Babcock State Park, Hawks Nest State Park, Little Beaver State Park, Pipestem Resort State Park, and Tamarack.  The complete event program schedule is available at www.nps.gov/neri,www.wvstateparks.com,www.tamarackwv.com, or Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/newrivergorgenps. Better yet, stop by any of these sites for a visit and celebrate the wonders of springtime in Appalachia!