Cooperative Living July 2020 - 11

2020 YOUTH ART CONTEST: A TRIP TO THE ZOO
CoverFeature | by Laura Emery, Field Editor
THE
T
Tiger's
his year's
Youth Art
Contest
winner is the
quintessential
all-American girl:
sparkling blue eyes,
long locks of red hair,
freckled skin and a
dimple that dances on
her cheek.
Mariner, daughter of
Peter and Melissa Gleich,
won Best in Show in the
18th annual Cooperative
Living Youth Art Contest
with her artistic depiction
of a little girl at the zoo
bonding with a perfectly penciled tiger.
For the 2020 contest, students in
kindergarten through fifth grade were
tasked with the challenge of portraying
visual interpretations of the theme,
" A Trip to the Zoo. " The winning entry
was chosen from hundreds of colorful
entries from Virginia and Maryland.
" Art is at its most special when it
creates a connection with its audience.
Mariner's work captures that perfectly
with her own connection, the one
she built between the young lady
and the tiger, " says Cooperative Living
Editor Steven Johnson.
More than 250
student-artists entered the
competition, which was
judged by staff members
at the Virginia, Maryland
& Delaware Association
of Electric Cooperatives,
publisher of Cooperative
Living.
First place in each
grade category received
a $25 cash prize, while
Mariner's Best in Show
work earned her a $100
prize.
co-opliving.com
PAW
A paw and an outstretched hand
form winning artwork
BEST
IN
SHOW
" I always wanted to adopt
animals at the zoo and
I love drawing them. "
- Mariner Gleich
Lexington, Va.
Mariner, a rising sixth-grade
homeschooler from Lexington, Va.,
lives with her family on a historic farm
served by BARC Electric Cooperative.
The 12-year-old spends her days
immersed in schoolwork or enjoying
the great outdoors, where she tends
to her beloved chickens - 18 of them,
to be exact.
When she's not in the chicken coop,
she's frolicking with the family's
parakeets, dogs, cats, horses or pigs.
She also enjoys basketball, dancing,
rollerblading and drawing. " We believe
God has gifted her these artistic
abilities, as well as a special connection
and concern for
animals, " her
mother says.
The Gleichs
got the phone
call announcing
Mariner's success
on a sunny
Saturday morning
in May. Mariner
was in the middle
of tending to her
chickens. " I
screamed, " she
says, with a laugh.
" I was so excited when I got the
good news. "
Mariner says it took her a few hours
to create her art submission, though
she only decided to submit it at the
last minute. " I always wanted to adopt
animals at the zoo and I love drawing
them, " she says. " I worked very hard
on my drawing and am very grateful
to have won. "
Cooperative Living started the Youth
Art Contest in 2003 to encourage
youthful creativity and give youngsters
a chance to display their talents to the
magazine's 1.25 million readers. On
behalf of the magazine staff, Johnson
says the judges were impressed with
the imagination and talent in this
year's field.
" To all of our contestants in the 2020
Youth Art Contest, thank you for your
effort, your interest and your entries.
We say it each year and we'll say it yet
again: In our eyes, you're all winners, "
he adds.
A promotional video about this
year's winner, posted on the magazine's
Facebook page in late June, can also be
viewed by clicking on the magazine's
YouTube link on the co-opliving.com
home page. ■
July 2020 | Cooperative Living | 9
PHOTOS BY JIM ROBERTSON
http://www.co-opliving.com http://www.co-opliving.com
Cooperative Living July 2020

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