Friday, January 18, 2008

Ridgefield Artist a Winner in Cat Calendar Contest

Congratulations to Ridgefield 6th grader Sandra Carpenter, one of the winners of the Baker & Taylor 2008 Calendar Art Contest. Baker & Taylor is a major U.S. distributor of books and other materials for libraries, schools and bookstores, including the Ridgefield Library. Baker & Taylor is also known for its endearing mascots, a pair of Scottish fold cats named Baker and Taylor. Each year, the company holds a contest for children to draw or paint the cats, and twelve winners are chosen to illustrate a calendar distributed to thousands of libraries and schools all over the country.

Last fall, 11-year-old Sandra entered the contest, and her painting was chosen to be the April page of the 2008 calendar! Sandra has been creating and studying art since 2nd grade. She especially likes to paint with acrylics and draw with charcoal and pastels, but for this piece she chose watercolor so she could evoke the lightness and happiness of spring. Sandra is not a cat person, but she turned to photographs and the Internet for research, then added the distinctive faces of Baker and Taylor to her cavorting cat figures. As the finishing touch, she added a stack of books – fitting for a young artist who hopes to pursue a career as an author/illustrator.

In addition to her own prizes of a DVD of a popular movie and a dozen copies of the calendar, Sandra has also earned for her library $500 credit at Baker & Taylor with which to buy materials! Sandra prefers reading and books over other media, so at her recommendation, we will spend this on fantasy and series books for pre-teens. Look for bookplates recognizing her achievement in new titles arriving at the Ridgefield Library this winter. Thanks, Sandra!

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