First place award winner Dreama Doggendorf painted “Chasing the Sun” for the 2018 Lilly Center for Lakes and Streams art contest.

WINONA LAKE — Fourth through 12th-grade students in Kosciusko County are invited to submit artwork for the Lilly Center Art Contest.

The theme is “Life at the Lake.” Submissions are open until Wednesday, April 15, said a news release from the Lily Center for Lakes and Streams.

The Lilly Center Art Contest is an annual opportunity for young people to use their artistic ability and capture the beauty of local lake and stream habitats.

“There’s an intersection between art and science, and that’s what we want to showcase with this contest,” said Caitlin Yoder, education coordinator at the Lilly Center. “They go hand-in-hand. Science informs and inspires art, and art capture science in a memorable, meaningful way,” Yoder said.

Winning pieces are placed in a calendar for the following year, and winning artists receive cash prizes. The artwork is also displayed throughout the Warsaw area, including The Alley in downtown Warsaw, the Northern Indiana Lakes Festival, Warsaw Library, Syracuse Library, Mutual Bank and our building. As an added bonus, four of the winning pieces will be selected at random and used to create collectible bookmarks.

Entry forms and instructions are available on the Lilly Center’s website: lakes.grace.edu. Contact Caitlin Yoder at 574-372-5100, ext. 6453 for other questions.

The art contest is one of four Lilly Center programs that focus on K-12 education. Lake Adventure Day, Classroom Lake Experience, and destination field trips round out the rest. To learn more and find out how your school, classroom or children can benefit, visit lakes.grace.edu.

The following organizations provided the necessary funding for the Lilly Center Art Contest during the 2019-20 school year: City of Warsaw Stormwater Utility, Clearwater Car Wash, Dekko Foundation, Didage & Surgical Power, Kay Young – Todd Realty, Medtronic, Mutual Bank, The Papers, The Watershed Foundation, and Zimmer Biomet.