Artwork worth price of the pass

Kimberley McGee

Friday, Aug. 24, 2001 | 4:47 a.m.

Annual passes to recreation areas, water parks and other vacation spots were stuffed in the pockets of thousands of families this summer.

The credit-card sized plastic passes may have been decorated with a goofy cartoon character performing zoo animal but, for the most part, likely did not attract much attention.

But the Bureau of Land Management hopes people will take a closer look at its new annual pass.

Last year the BLM created an art contest for schoolchildren in grades 6-12 to help get the community more involved with nature, Kate Sorom, a BLM ranger, said.

Early last year Sorom and a team of co-workers were in the process of sifting through slick photos of the sandy and rust-colored Red Rock Canyon area to potentially grace the face of the pass.

The photos, although breathtaking, didn't inspire the team.

"We really wanted to do something different, fun," Sorom said.

Sorom had worked with school-age children in the past and the idea for the county-wide art contest evolved.

"This is to educate (students) about art and where we live," Sorom said. "There's a lot out there that they are not aware of."

Students who participated in the contest researched the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area to find plants, animals or scenery that best represents Red Rock Canyon.

"In doing the research the students become educated about the desert they live in and respect it, conserve it and get a love for it," Sorom said. "There are so many kids who are transplanted here and they don't know what is around them."

Of the 163 entries, Fremont Junior High School sixth grader Daniel Chandia's tortoise drawing was chosen for its strong use of color and desert theme.

The drawing, which went into circulation on the passes earlier this month, features a desert tortoise under a blazing sun.

"We were looking for something that represented us and also put some attention on (Red Rock)," Sorom said. "This (drawing) brings a lot of focus on us and our environment out here."

Chandia was one of six first-place winners, whose works included a chalk portrait of a Sacred Datura flower native to Southern Nevada, a pencil-and-water color drawing of a coiled snake, cactus scenery in chalk and Joshua Trees in ink.

What started as a simple art contest blossomed into a fund-raiser for the school district.

Chandia's drawing and the other first-place drawings will be featured on postcards, which can be purchased for 75 cents at the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area Visitor Center inside the park. The money will go toward a scholarship fund, so that classes from area schools may take field trips to Red Rock Canyon.

"It was amazing to see the artwork that these students were coming up with," Sorom said. "There really is so much talent out there."

Chandia, 12, has entered several community art contests since he was in the second grade.

His drawing for the Nevada Department of Transportation's art contest in 1995 won first prize and hung in the office of former Las Vegas Mayor Jan Jones.

But the Red Rock Canyon art contest was a bit more enticing, Chandia said.

"I'd been to Red Rock and met people from Russia and Germany (there)," Chandia said. "People from all over the world will see this (pass)."

Chandia's pet turtle, Terry, inspired the tortoise theme. He explored the desert tortoise habitat built near the visitor center and was enthralled by the endangered species.

Chandia planned his piece from the hours of reading and picture gazing he had completed. He thought of using markers, ink or even crayons, but had some reservations.

"That's little kid stuff," Chandia said. "I wanted to show my artistic ability and the different tools I can use, because (artist) Vincent Van Gogh didn't use crayons, he used paints."

For his birthday last year Chandia received a packet of colorful pastel chalks, which he had yet to use in earnest. He decided to break out of his comfort zone and work with a new medium.

"I wanted it to be the best," he said. "It was fun to use something different."

Which is exactly what the art contest was designed to do, said Candy Schneider, assistant director of the Clark County School District's school/community partnership program.

The partnership program oversees more than 12 annual art contests that urge students to explore subjects, as well as their potential.

"It really gives the teachers an opportunity to invite students to research their environment," Schneider said.

The contests are typically sponsored by area businesses and community centers that want children's drawings to grace their calendars and walls.

Businesses that invite children to participate in an art contest do so to give a little back to the community, Schneider said.

Children's artwork, Schneider said, "shows a bond with the community, tremendously so. Everybody loves kids' drawings."

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