Wahkiakum Senior recieves regional art award

Semuel Hoogendoorn, a senior at Wahkiakum High School, is one of the winners of the 2024 Southwest Washington regional high school art show. Semuel's painting, "Aunt Sam Sends Her Love", was inspired by a dream he had about the Aunt that he had never met. In the painting, Semuel is meeting his aunt who died three years before Semuel was born. Semuel said that he was inspired to make the painting because his mother missed her sister and in the dream Semuel was able to show his mother that her sister is always with her. Semuel has enjoyed making art for years. Art teacher, Elizabeth Clark, was his first formal art instructor. The Regional Awards are for artworks receiving the highest average scores from the competition judges. The fifteen winners of the Regional Awards will compete against entries from across Washington State in the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) Art Show. This event, now in its 51st year, honors the tradition and innovation in student art, culminating in a virtual awards presentation on May 28. In addition to the recognition from ESD 112, every award-winning student at this year's Art Show has been awarded scholarships. These scholarships are generously provided by the Department of Art + Design at Central Washington University and/or the Pacific Northwest College of Art. Semuel will instead be attending Western Washington University in Bellingham on another scholarship awarded to him for an essay he wrote.