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Shown left to right with their award-winning art are: Nichelle Kruse, Darcy Ormsmith, Alexis Roesler, Wynand Bothma, Brock Krueger, Haeleigh Mulder, Lily Roesler, JD Thompson and Ashlyn Weber. -
Darcy Ormsmith with her Watercolor titled “Cat Tea Party,” 2nd place and Ceramic sculpture “Forest Brew,” 1st place. -
Wynand Bothma with 3-D piece “Sitting Bear,” second place and “Grim Reality,” 3rd place in the Mixed Media division. -
JD Thompson with “The Big One,” 2nd place in Print making division. -
Haeleigh Mulder with “Strength,” 3rd place in Crafts division. -
Lily Roesler with handmade Native American Jewelry, 5th place winner in Traditional Culture Art. -
Ashlyn Weber with her 2nd place winner in the Oil and Acrylic Painting category, “Dressed in Harmony.” -
Nichelle Kruse with “Divine Soldier” in the Graphic Design category. -
Alexis Rosler with photograph “Springtime on the Farm.” -
Brock Krueger with “Joy in the Springtime,” 5th place in the Drawing category and “The Look of Intimidation,” 3rd place in Colored Drawing.
Wessington Springs art students brought home some hefty hardware this month, making school history by taking the Team Sweepstakes State Runner-Up at the SDHSAA State Visual Arts Contest Gallery.
“I am just so proud of the kids. They put in so much time and effort both in and out of the classroom to produce such high-quality projects. I feel blessed that my students allow me to work with them, challenge them and help them bring their ideas to life,” said Alicia Roesler, Art Instructor at Wessington Springs MS/ HS. “I believe we are lucky to have students in our school who are so well-rounded and can find success in many areas such as sports, fine arts, FFA and FCCLA. My art students have a wide range of interests and hobbies.”
On the heels of thrilling boys and girls basketball seasons, the Visual Arts Team State Runner-Up trophy for WSHS art students is proudly displayed at the high school next to the Spartans Boys Basketball Class B Consolation Champion trophy.
For seniors Haeleigh Mulder, Brock Krueger and Wynand Bothma, this win served as a rewarding culmination of the past several years developing their art skills.
Having racked up two first places, one second, one third, a fourth and a fifth in the State Visual Arts during his high school career, Krueger said he will continue to draw and explore art projects for fun after graduation.
“It’s fulfilling once I complete a project because I like to challenge myself to make the best piece I can,” he explained.
Having placed in 2021, 2022 and 2023, Mulder said her favorite subject is people and she likes to explore cultural paintings.
“I’ve done art projects for people outside of school and I might continue in that capacity,” she explained. “In class, I’m hard on myself for about 90% of the project then at the end I love it when it comes together.”
Bothma shared that he finds creating art stress relieving and he enjoys drawing and sketching in his spare time as well as trying new things.
“For ‘Grim Reality,’ I used wood burning, acrylic and charcoal, I had never done that before,” he explained.
Roesler said she likes to help students create projects related to things that are important to them.
“I will go from helping one student with a project related to farming/ranching to another student who is working with people, to another student who is working with animals or hunting, or digital anime characters,” she said. “It is neat to work with students who have these varying interests as it keeps my day more eventful. I also believe it shows kids that art is something that can be for everyone.”