Red Rock Canyon names winners of art contest

Nicole Fetto?s entry "Ladybug" won her Best of Show in the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area?s annual art contest. Her piece will be featured on Red Rock?s annual pass, set to be issued in October.Vic Valbuena Bareng/View Vic Valbuena bareng/ViewFamilies and student participants attend an awards ceremony on March 8 for the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area?s annual student art contest. The theme of this year?s contest, which involved students in grades 6-12, was Bugs of the Mojave Desert. Advertisement

Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area announced the winners of its annual art contest. The theme this year was Bugs of the Mojave Desert.

Nicole Fetto, 18, a student at Coronado High School, won Best of Show for her entry, "Ladybug."

Her artwork shows a close up of the insect. Fetto, who plans to major in art when she gets to college, will see her arwork used on Red Rock's annual pass, coming out in October .

She received a $100 gift certificate to Dick Blick Art Materials for her winning submission, which was done in pastels with crayon.

Just over 150 entries were received from students in grades 6 through 12.

The contest was part of the School-Community Partnership Program.

Categories were such that children competed only against their own age groups.

Submissions were required to include information about the subject and how it coped in the desert.

The extra requirement was to ensure that students learned about the desert and the creatures it supports.

"We find that a lot of kids, especially those who just moved here, they just see the desert," said Kate Sorom, the Red Rock ranger who coordinated the contest. "They don't even know which desert they're in."

First-place winners each received a $25 gift certificate.

For more information on the park, call 515-5350 or visit www.redrockcanyonlv.org or www.nv.blm.gov/redrockcanyon.