Dallin Museum's Middle School Art Contest Winners

The following is a press release from the .

The Cyrus E. Dallin Art Museum awarded prizes at a gallery reception on Saturday, May 12. The exhibition of student entries from the Arlington Middle School Student Art Contest is on view now through Saturday, May 26, at the Cutter Gallery, 611 Massachusetts Ave., in Arlington Center.

Seventeen student artworks were submitted in the contest, which was organized by the museum in celebration of the 150th anniversary of Dallin’s birth and with the intent that students would discover Dallin’s works and be inspired to create art for their own personal expression. The students’ artworks were judged by a jury of art professionals and community leaders, using the criteria of technique, personal expression and relationship to contest themes.

The museum extends its congratulations and thanks to all the students, their art teachers and parents. All participating students were recognized for their achievements and awarded certificates of appreciation. Additional honors and prizes were awarded to the following students:

• First Place: Margaret Gillis of St. Agnes School for her clay sculpture titled “Patient Mother, Sleeping Baby”
• Second Place: Eskil Urdal of the Arlington Enrichment Collaborative (AEC) for a dreamcatcher titled, “Get a Power Boost for my LARP Character”
• Third Place: Morgan Salazar of Ottoson Middle School for a photo transfer titled, “Nature is Timeless”
• Honorable Mention (in alphabetical order): M. Grace, AEC, dreamcatcher; Philip Lindsey, Ottoson, pencil drawing titled “Out the Window;” Fiona Moseley, Ottoson, photo transfer and cray-pas titled, “Ivy;” Katherine Mateo, Ottoson, glazed sculpture titled, “Birds in a Nest;” Grace S., AEC, dreamcatcher titled, “Travel the World,” Chris George, Dearborn Academy, clay sculpture titled, “Indian #1;” and Kristina Martin, Dearborn Academy, clay sculpture titled, “Indian #5”

Students used a variety of different media for their artworks including clay sculptures, pencil drawings, photo transfers and multimedia pieces. The works extol Dallin’s themes of the Native American, American history, family, and nature. Students in grades 6-8 that attend school in Arlington (public, private or home school) were eligible to participate. Students from Ottoson Middle School, St. Agnes and Dearborn Academy participated in the contest. A group of Ottoson students from the AEC created individual dreamcatchers that were displayed on super-sized dreamcatcher that they made together.

The art teachers whose students entered the contest were Jeana Paolino of the Arlington Enrichment Collaborative, Ignacio Forrester of Dearborn Academy, Alecia Serafini and Eileen de Rosas of the Ottoson Middle School and Ellen Ciarlone of St. Agnes School.

Local businesses helped raise funds for the contest by donating prizes to the Museum’s Town Day raffles in 2010 and 2011.  Those businesses include Acitron Restaurant, Art Beat, Art Wear, , Giles Wine, Lady Siam Restaurant, , New England Photo, , , , , and .

Born in 1861 in Utah, Dallin displayed an early artistic talent. He moved to Massachusetts in his late teens to further his study of art. Dallin went on to have a successful international career as a sculptor and taught art for over 40 years at the Massachusetts Normal Art School (now known as the Massachusetts College of Art and Design). It was in Arlington where he and his wife, Vittoria Colonna Dallin, raised their family.

Dallin encouraged young artists to pursue their studies at home and abroad. Given that he was a dedicated teacher of art, the Museum considers the middle school Art Contest to be a fitting project for the 150th anniversary year. The museum, located at 611 Massachusetts Avenue in Arlington Center, is open Wednesdays through Sundays from Noon to 4 p.m.