Colman Hoover, a seventh-grader at Mancos Middle School, has taken the first step to becoming an internationally recognized artist by winning a local competition sponsored by the Mancos Lions Club.
Middle-schooler Magdalena Hall took second place in the contest.
Local winners of the International Peace Poster Contest were announced at a Nov. 6 reception at the Mancos Visitor Center, where parents and students could view all the 18 entered posters.
It is the first year the Mancos Lions Club has held the contest here locally, and officials say they were impressed with the number of entrants as well as the thoughtfulness of the compositions and their artist statements.
“The colors, composition, creativity ... I think it’s just fantastic,” said Lions Club president Mac Neely.
Students who participated said the contest allowed them to express an abstract subject like peace in their own style. Some equated peace with everyone’s favorite food: pizza. Others said peace was found in simple, quiet spaces outdoors.
“With my poster, I really tried to say that sometimes there’s peace all around you. You don’t know its there at first, you have to look for it,” seventh-grader Kaiteland Bright said at the reception.
The winners’ posters will advance through to regionals, multiple district and international levels of competition, Neely said. Winners will be announced this spring.
The grand prize is $5,000, plus a trip for the winner and two family members to a special award ceremony. The 23 merit award winners will each receive a certificate and a cash award of $500.