South Whitley Students Win Statewide Art Contest
Justine Ocken, a high school junior from South Whitley, created this color pencil work of a horse, rider and dog wading in an autumn stream. The piece won Best of Show in Indiana Electric Cooperatives’ 26th annual Cooperative Calendar of Student Art Contest. Image provided.
News Release
COLUMBIA CITY — Two students from South Whitley have been honored for their artwork in Indiana Electric Cooperatives’ 26th annual Cooperative Calendar of Student Art Contest.
Justine Ocken, a high school junior from South Whitley, was named artist of the year for her color pencil work of a horse, rider, and a dog wading in an autumn stream. The work was also named Best of Show. In addition, a second work by Ocken was awarded an honorable mention in the 11th-grade category.
Freshman Cate Deckena, also from South Whitley, won the ninth-grade category with her black and white color pencil portrait of a cat.
Winners were selected from across the state for each grade, kindergarten through 12, and will receive $200. Their artwork will illustrate the cover and the 12 months of a 2024 calendar. Thirteen additional artists earned an honorable mention award and $75. These works will appear in a special section of the calendar. A complete list of the contest winners is included below.
“Students from Whitko have been participating and winning some of these categories each year for more than 20 years. This really speaks to the art program at Whitko, and we are proud to support the artistic talents of these students,” said Christopher Todd, marketing director of Northeastern REMC.
The artwork was judged on artistic merit, originality, creativity and suitability for a wall calendar. The art contest is open to any Indiana K-12 student. Approximately 2,500 pieces of artwork were entered in this year’s contest.
The 2024 wall calendar will be distributed to local schools by Northeastern REMC this fall.
Cate Deckena, a freshman student from South Whitley, won the ninth-grade category in the cooperative calendar contest with her black and white pencil portrait of a cat. Image provided.
Whitko student Justine Ocken received an honorable mention in the cooperative calendar art contest with this piece depicting a dog in a kitchen. Image provided.
