FROM STAFF REPORTS

Max Cecil, a fourth grader at Mt Laurel Elementary School, is the winner of the 2015 UM Science Festival “Art Competition.”

Cecil is the son of Mt Laurel Elementary art teacher Alan Cecil.

According to Dr. Lusia MacPherson, Supervisor of Advanced Programs, the addition of an “Art Competition” to the second annual Science Festival provided students with a unique opportunity to utilize their artistic talents and creativity to create artwork with a “Medieval Engineering” theme.

“The art competition not only sparked an interest in more students, but it also provided students with a better understanding of the historic time period and the development of modern technologies,” said MacPherson.

All the art entries submitted were posted on the UM Science Festival website and a preliminary voting by the public was held.

The 10 pictures that received the greatest number of votes moved to the next round of judging where faculty in the University of Montevallo Art Department selected the winning artwork.

The UM Art Department said that the piece submitted by Cecil “depicts the Medieval Engineering theme best (i.e. Catapult, metal armor, blacksmith, castle fortes, etc.). As a drawing, there’s a great play between shape, texture, line and especially space.

“The illusion of depth within the pictorial space is really advanced for that age, particularly demonstrating a heavier line weight (darker, thicker lines) for the castle in the foreground to communicate to the viewer that it is closer in space. Compositionally it is also really advanced, in that the eye keeps going back and forth from the foreground to the background and around the rest of the image. Overall, we like that he embraced the concept and translated that into a scene that is equally complex as it is fun.”

The second annual Science Festival is scheduled for Dec. 11 at the University of Montevallo.

The festival is presented jointly by UM, Alabama Math, Science and Technology Initiative (AMSTI) and the Shelby County School District.

“Our annual Science Festival is breaking new ground in Alabama by providing elementary students with the opportunity to participate in science challenges outside of class that involve hands-on science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics (STEAM) activities,” said MacPherson. “The Science Festival sets the stage to develop Alabama’s students as the next generation of leaders in science and engineering.”