Blackfoot teen to have artwork displayed in US Capitol after winning district competition

IDAHO FALLS — A high school student from Blackfoot will have her artwork featured at the U.S. Capitol after winning the 2nd District Congressional Art Competition in Idaho.

Mayleigh Carter, a junior student at Snake River High School, won first place in the competition with her painting titled “Tied Down at the War Bonnet Rodeo.” She said she did not know her artwork would be displayed in the U.S. Capitol, and she’s excited about the opportunity.

The Congressional Art Competition is an annual tradition, sponsored in east Idaho by 2nd District Rep. Mike Simpson, and invites students from Carey, Jerome, Filer, Skyline, Malad, Idaho Falls, Snake River and Castleford High Schools to submit artwork. Winners were announced in a reception at The Art Museum of Easter Idaho in Idaho Falls on Wednesday.

Simpson said the annual competition had been running for a long time before he was in office and was created to showcase artwork from schools within congressional districts across the U.S.

Students who win in their congressional district get to have their artwork displayed in the tunnel between the U.S. Capitol and the Cannon House Office Building in Washington, D.C. The artwork remains on display for one full year, and the winners are flown to Washington to see the exhibit in person.

Carter told EastIdahoNews.com her inspiration for “Tied Down at the War Bonnet Rodeo” came from a photo she took of a horse at the War Bonnet Rodeo. She said she’s been creating art with watercolors for the past six years.

And she’s not alone in her love of art. Carter also said there are many artists in her family, including her great-grandma, her grandma, and her father.

Aleny Rodriguez, a junior student at Skyline High School in Idaho Falls, placed third in the competition with her digital art piece titled “The Spirit of Idaho.”

Rodriguez said she used technology to create her piece, with the design featuring many Idaho-focused items like the Appaloosa horses, cutthroat trout and the star garnet. The image is framed like a comic book cover.

“I feel like we should really look towards new media,” Rodriguez said. “This feels like something old, mixed with something new.”

While the competition was the main focus, she said creating the art piece was also a way for her to continue learning to create art digitally and to finish these types of projects.

Simpson, who is a published artist himself, said many of the students who entered this competition are better artists than he is.

Simpson said he believes art is important because creativity is the center of innovation. As an example, Simpson recalled a conversation he had with the former CEO of Micron, Steve Appleton. The congressman said Appleton told him that when Micron considered hiring a potential employee, it wasn’t about how smart they were, but about their focus on the arts.

“The sciences are how we make a living, and the living we make is for the arts — because it’s what makes communities livable,” Simpson said.

For those who want to see student artwork in eastern Idaho, the Young at Art Exhibit at The Art Museum of Eastern Idaho runs through April 25, coinciding with the Congressional Art Competition. The annual Young at Art exhibit features dozens of pieces of artwork from students all over east Idaho.

Many of the pieces in the exhibit came from students at Fox Hollow, Ethel Boyes, Dora Erickson, Westside, Edgemont, Hawthorne, Sunnyside and Teresa Bunker elementary schools. Three high schools are also featured: Skyline, Idaho Falls and Compass Academy.

To learn more about the Young Art Exhibit, visit www.theartmuseum.org/young-at-art.

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