The great thing about getting older is that you don't lose all the other ages you've been. ~ Madeleine L'Engle Muddy water is best cleared by leaving it alone. ~ Alan Watts FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 29 April, 2018 Contact Pam Jenkins — pamjenkins77@gmail.co GHHS Senior wins poster contest for second straight year Shelby Workman’s painting of a red octopus will adorn all the promotional materials for Peninsula Art League’s annual summer art festival. (GIG HARBOR) A watercolor painting of a red octopus by 18-year old Shelby Workman will adorn all the promotional materials for Peninsula Art League’s annual Summer Art Festival. This is the second year the Gig Harbor High School senior has won the poster contest. Her collage of a great blue heron, embellished with gel-pen stippling, took top honors in 2017. This year’s entry is completely different — the red octopus, set against a watery background of bubble-like circles in shades of blue, appears to be swimming right off the page. “I like to try new things and I wanted to do something Gig Harbor-y,” Workman said as she took a break between classes. “I couldn’t believe it when my teacher told me I’d won the art contest again this year but I’m super-excited.” She added that her family is “super-artistic and art has been drilled into my head since I was a little girl. I love to work with gel pens and flair pens and I really like the look of watercolor but I don’t feel like I’m very good at it,” Obviously the contest judges disagreed and selected the red octopus from more than 20 entries from other local high school students. Second place went to Luke Thorvilson, a 10th grader at South Kitsap High School; SKHS freshman Netonya Stevenson placed third. Workman plans to attend Brigham Young University and major in art education, but first she’ll be heading to parts unknown on an 18-month mission trip for her church this fall. “I have no idea where they’ll send me, but I’ll be happy wherever it is. And I know I’ll be doing some kind of art whenever I have time.” This year’s Art Festival takes place July 21 and 22 on Judson Street near the downtown waterfront. According to festival chair Pam Jenkins, 127 artists have been juried into the festival, now in its 34th year. The festival is free. The event is the annual fundraiser for the Art League. Proceeds provide scholarships for local high school seniors who want pursue art-related studies in college. Throughout the year PAL also sponsors workshops by well-known artists and exhibitions of work created by PAL members. One such art show will take place during the art festival at 7Seas Brewery. In October, PAL will host a juried art exhibit of work by artists from throughout the U.S. and Canada. In addition to the fine art and crafts available during the festival, there will also be food, music and special art-making activities for children. The festival and art show are free. For information visit peninsulaartleague.com or contact Pam Jenkins at pamjenkins77@gmail.com ##### "Red Octopus" by GHHS senior, Shelby Workman.