JDCHS freshman's poster wins international recognition

DRAPER — Madison Barnard, a freshman at Juan Diego Catholic High School, took third place at the international level in the Knights of Columbus Substance Abuse Awareness Poster Contest. The contest is open to all young people between the ages of 8 and 14.

As an eighth grader last year Saint John the Baptist Middle School, Barnard created the poster in color pencil. It depicts a person in a boat, floating in a sea with bottles. The slogan is ‘Don’t lose yourself in a sea of consequences.’ Her poster won at the local level and was forwarded to the international level, where it was judged on the criteria of artistic merit, slogan and overall impact.

"It met the first because technically speaking, it is a beautiful picture - the pastels of the sea blend perfectly with the pink sunset, and it’s not too crowded with images," according to the official judges’ statement from the Knights Supreme Council. "The poster has a unique and effective slogan, which fits in with the artwork. The combination of the slogan and artwork portray a theme of loneliness (the lone rower in the middle of a sea of liquor bottles), but the sunset off in the distance also inspires hope and positivity."

Likewise, Ray Lopez, Utah state deputy, said the poster won at the local level because Barnard "was able to communicate something to us through her art that really touched you."

Barnard credits her entry into the contest to Saint John the Baptist Middle School art teacher Annie Lemings, who made a class assignment of the contest, but also specifically encouraged Barnard to enter. "Without her, it wouldn’t have been entered," said Barnard, who has been interested in art since kindergarten, when her watercolor of a sunflower took first place in her age group at an art show.

Lemings told her students to avoid trite slogans like ‘Hugs, Not Drugs,’ Barnard said. "So I thought, ‘What would people usually do?’ And then, ‘What is the opposite of that?’"

She thought how she would feel lost if she were negatively affected by alcohol, and while considering situations where people feel lost, she came up with the idea of a person lost at sea.

She has been thrilled with the success of her poster. "When you get attention for anything, it’s encouraging," she said. "It’s inspiring to keep doing what you love."

In addition to art, Barnard plays soccer and writes poetry.

"The basic ways that you can get all of your thoughts and everything out is on paper, and with that comes, for me, either artwork or writing," she said. "Poetry in itself is almost artwork to me, because when you create it you can visualize through poetry, it paints a picture in your mind, almost."