For more information:

JoAnn Wise

Western Art Association Business Director

(509) 962-2934

www.westernartassociation.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Two Local Aspiring Artists Win Western Art Association Scholarships
Deadline for 2008 Applications is April 15

Ellensburg, Wash. (Aug. 2, 2007) - Two aspiring Ellensburg art students are a bit closer to realizing their dream thanks to Western Art Association scholarships.

The students, Naomi Miyamoto Gray and Leon Jendrycka, were awarded WAA scholarships during the 35th Annual Ellensburg National Western Art Show & Auction at the end of May.

"Both of these students displayed a commitment to furthering their art educations, and that was what the Western Art Association was looking for in scholarship recipients," said WAA's director, JoAnn Wise.

The scholarships are for Kittitas County students only. It's the first time in a few years that the WAA has given out scholarships. It started the program in the 1990s, but had to stop due to a lack of funding. This year it not only resumed the scholarships, but also doubled them, awarding $1,000 to each student.

The deadline to apply for the 2008 scholarships is April 15. The WAA encourages high school guidance counselors to notify students of the scholarship opportunities by no later than the beginning of March. The National Ellensburg Western Art Show & Auction will be May 16-18, 2008.

Miyamoto Gray is an art undergraduate at Central Washington University. She is a full-time, non-traditional student who transferred from the University of Arizona in Tucson.

"After studying at the University of Arizona, while working as a Web designer for several years back in Tokyo, I became more aware of my fundamental desire to have the freedom to create what I really want. So, I transferred to CWU to earn a BFA," Miyamoto Gray said. "I enjoy representational oil paintings that tell a story. I especially like painting aerial-view landscapes and birds as the allegory of my perspectives. As a hang glider pilot, I have grown attached to the wild birds that share the sky with us, sometimes circling in thermals just under my wings."

Miyamoto Gray is also a member of the CWU Student Art Council, active hang glider pilot and member of the Cloud Base Country Club, where she works at a site guide for hang gliders.

"I plan to take advanced painting in fall 2007, my last quarter of the BFA program," she said. "After graduation, I intend to apply to graduate school to pursue a master's of fine arts."

One of her mentors, CWU sculpture professor Donna Stack, said Mitamoto Gray exhibits a great deal of talent with her artwork.

"She is not only an exemplary student, but also finds time to participate in the Student Art Council. She continually embraces the challenges of the projects I assign, as well as shows genuine interest in the work of her peers."

The other WAA scholarship winner, Leon Jendrycka, is currently attending the Art Institute of Seattle, where he's studying several different subjects. He wants to pursue industrial graphic design, he said.

"The arts bring happiness to people, and my dream is to share this happiness with people all over the world. My goal is to improve human life with my unique skills and inspiration in industrial design."

Jendrycka is a graduate of Kittitas High School. One of his teachers, Carolyn Johnson, said his art has proven excellent over the years.

"He takes a creative angle on art assignments and loves the challenge of working in art media. I have seen evidence of his work and find it highly artistically conceived and articulated."

The WAA will give out scholarships again next year. Three are available; two for Kittitas County high school students and one for a CWU non-traditional student.

"We are lucky to live in a community that includes such generous supporters of the arts and arts education, such as the Western Art Association," said Marji Morgan, dean of the College of Arts and Humanities at CWU. "I believe that arts education is critically important for the well being of individuals and communities, and thus greatly appreciate the WAA's scholarship support of our local student artists."