In the conclusion of The Clarkston News? series spotlighting terrific achievements from area youth at the Oakland County 4-H fair, four more young and successful participants are profiled
In total seven young people from the Clarkston area won best in show or grand champion titles at this year’s Oakland County 4-H Fair, held at the fairgrounds in Davisburg from July 26-31.
Christine Bignotti, Beth Boyd, Elizabeth Brazeal, Chelsea Rawe and Tory Salvador all won Best of Show blue ribbons and State Gold Awards with their exhibits. The State Gold Award doubles as an invitation to show at the Michigan State Fair beginning on Aug. 10.
Down in the horse arena, Renee Knight’s Western Bareback prowess and Amanda Suddeth’s Western Showing and Fitting skills earned them Grand Champion status in their respective classes.
Rawe, Salvador and Knight were profiled in the Aug. 10 edition of The Clarkston News.
Elizabeth Brazeal, of Davisburg, drew inspiration from one of her favorite operas in creating her blue ribbon winning ink drawing at this year’s fair. Her black and white drawing is of the Queen of the Night from Mozart’s opera ‘The Magic Flute.?
‘I wanted to represent the contrast between the light and dark; and also make the queen menacing,? said Brazeal.
To create her piece, Brazeal used a narrow ink first, then traced back over her design with a Sharpie brand black marker. The drawing took four hours to complete.
There was some worry that her choice of marker would not go over well with the judges, but their appreciation for her piece was evidenced by the blue ribbon, and State Gold Award, which secured a place for her picture at the Michigan State Fair.
Brazeal said being recognized for her work was satisfying, especially because of her fondness for the subject matter.
This is the third year Brazeal has participated in the 4-H fair. She started drawing when she was three-years-old and would like to study art when she is done with her high school curriculum.
Beth Boyd, of Davisburg, has been involved with the 4-H fair since she was very young, entering sewing projects, and raising ducks, chickens, rabbits and turkeys in the past. This year though, Boyd’s foray into the glazed ceramics portion of the exhibit hall was a first, and turned out to be fruitful as well.
The little china tea set Boyd painted, glazed and fired to perfection, won a blue ribbon and a State Gold Award at this year’s fair. The set, which includes a tea pot, containers for milk and sugar, two tea cups and a plate, is decorated with a forget-me-not floral pattern and features real gold inlay around the edge of each piece.
?(The tea set) is special to me because I spent more time on this than all of the other things I’ve entered in the past,? said Boyd.
Boyd first started learning about ceramics from a neighbor one year prior to this year’s 4-H fair.
The process for creating her set went from general to specific. In beginning, all Boyd had was a plain white tea set. The blue forget-me-nots were the first design element added, followed by details such as leafs and colors around the flowers.
?(The tea set) looked a little different each time I fired it,? said Boyd.
While she plans on participating in next year’s 4-H fair, Boyd’s next project might be something for her family’s home. As the Boyd’s are in the midst of remodeling, Beth would like to create a custom porcelain sink for the bathroom.
Aside from her 4-H pursuits, Boyd plays clarinet and enjoys skiing.
Christine Bignotti, of Davisburg, was not sure if the development touches added to her black and white photograph entered in this year’s the 4-H exhibit hall would disqualify her. But stroking on developer with a feather and using photo pencils to add minute suggestions of color caught the judge’s eyes and landed Bignotti a blue ribbon and a State Gold Award.
‘I was unsure if it would be okay. I read the rules and they did not say anything about color pencils,? said Bignotti.
What set her work apart from the others was Bignotti’s ability to create a dramatic scene from a photo of something mundane.
‘I developed a habit of taking pictures of everything,? said Bignotti. ‘I don’t like setting things up.?
Bignotti’s photo takes a picture of a friend’s face partially obscured by a fire hydrant and turns it into a parade of visual mystery. While the core of the photo is unchanged, the presentation screams that the most mundane and commonplace moments in life are unique and special in their own right.
Bignotti pursued photography as a hobby at Holly High School. Now that she has graduated, Bignotti will start at Kettering College in October to study engineering.
To Amanda Suddeth, of Clarkston, winning the grand champion award in Western Showing and Fitting horse class had special significance this year. Aside from recognition as the grand champion, the Western Showing and Fitting winner also receives the Thunder Memorial Trophy.
What made the class so special to Suddeth was that the Thunder Memorial Trophy is named after her stepfather Marc Delisle’s deceased horse.
‘It was really important to the whole family,? said Suddeth.
Last year, Suddeth’s stepsister, Lauren Delisle, won the Showing and Fitting Class.
‘Amanda winning showing and fitting was our main goal at the fair. Marc was saying he wanted her to win so ‘both of my daughters are on my trophy,?? said Karen Delisle, Amanda’s mother.
?(Amanda) said she didn’t care if she placed in any other class as long as she won showing and fitting,? added Delisle.
This was Amanda’s third year riding her horse Blue in the 4-H fair. When their run in showing and fitting was done, the pair was guardedly optimistic.
‘I knew it was a pretty good pattern, but the judges had a choice between three really good runs,? said Suddeth. ‘I was really excited when I won because I have always wanted to win (the Thunder Memorial).?
Suddeth also rides on the Clarkston High School equestrian team and is a member of the varsity pom pon team. She will graduate from CHS in 2006 and would like to pursue teaching in college.