‘Water is Life’ art contest draws winners from Monte Vista Elementary, Rosemont Middle schools
Water conservation and creativity produced a quartet of honors for students from Monte Vista Elementary, Rosemont Middle School and Crescenta Valley High.
Two participants won first place, while two more were finalists in the Foothill Municipal Water District’s eighth annual Water is Life art competition.
The contest was open to students from kindergarten to 12th grade who reside within the water district’s area of La Crescenta-Montrose, La Cañada Flintridge and Altadena.
First-place winners received $100, second-place finishers were awarded $50 and honorable mentions received $25.
There were 73 entries and 11 finalists in three categories.
All finalists will have their art entered into the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California competition, which will include prizes and recognition in December.
Rosemont Middle School’s Joanna S. Kim won first place in the seventh-through-12th-grade category, while Crescenta Valley High freshman Heidy Hur and junior Alyssa Minjares were runner-up and honorable mention, respectively.
Hur’s younger sister, Monte Vista fifth-grader Olivia, took first place in the fourth-through-sixth-grade category.
Kim’s artwork included a clock hovering near a shower, car wash, toilet and washing machine.
“People use a lot of water in order to use the sink, toilet, washing machine and so on, so I just felt like they should conserve more water as they use those [appliances],” Kim said.
The seventh-grader said it took her two months to complete her drawing, which was inspired, in part, by a camping trip with friends and family.
“I saw that a lot of my friends were taking really long showers, and I just wanted to draw something to remind people to conserve,” Kim said.
Olivia Hur said she was ecstatic about winning first place.
“It feels pretty exciting because you don’t think you’re going to win when there’s a lot of people,” Hur said.
Hur’s piece included several water drops holding stop signs near a young girl brushing her teeth.
“Many people waste a lot of water, like turning on the water when they’re brushing their teeth, so my drawing is saying, ‘don’t do that,’” Hur said. “You should save water.”
