COLCHESTER – West Prairie art student Niah Zimmerman is the winner of a poster contest highlighting the annual Labor Day festival in the City of Colchester.
The Labor Day poster contest was hosted by Alderman Catherine Louderman who contacted West Prairie art teacher Jennifer Cordell about requesting her students to artistically render carnival attractions from which a winner would be chosen by city officials to help advertise locally in the Colchester Labor Day book and on social media.
Three finalists were chosen from the eight entries for the poster contest and were tied up after a vote from city officials. Council member Louderman sought the help of Allegra in Macomb for professional advice on “which poster is eye-catching” and what would be a good poster for a carnival. The poster created by freshman art student Zimmerman was “instantly selected.”
Cordell, who teaches art at West Prairie, said via email correspondence, “The art students were really excited that the city asked them to participate in the poster contest. It was a great collaboration project between the school and the community. Anytime the students can showcase their talents for the public to see is a positive experience.”
Niah Zimmerman spoke about her work on the carnival poster contest sharing her feelings for Labor Day with her family, and her artistic process in the classroom at West Prairie Jr./Sr. High School.
“Mrs. Cordell explained the assignment, that the council wanted to have more advertisement for the carnival because they didn’t have any. I did use the internet for inspiration, but I did it all free-hand. I was actually very surprised that I received the award and won because art is not my strong suit. I am very proud of what I did,” Zimmerman said.
The young artist said that Labor Day is a huge thing in her family, and that she loves Labor Day and that is why her artistry includes red and white fairground tents in the fore ground cast against a gradient of skyline in deep blue to light blue hues because whenever she thinks of Labor Day, she thinks of “the big food tents and yard sales, among other stuff.”
Working through the design process for her carnival poster, Zimmerman said that Mrs. Cordell helped her get the movement of color and chose blue as her favorite color, then a yellow and shades of pink.
Zimmerman also said that when she drew the poster, she began first with the background colors of night-time blues and then she drew the verdant grasses.
“I traced out the lines in the tents and the Ferris wheel and then colored them in,” Zimmerman said, and the poster features fireworks because “every Labor Day there are fireworks that me, my family and all my cousins and grandparents go sit up in the back of the truck and watch.”
Zimmerman will receive some carnival tickets to share with her friends and family as an award for winning the poster contest.
