IsaBella Walker shown with her Virginia Highlands Festival entry.
IsaBella Walker, a 7-year old student at Valley Institute Elementary School, Bristol, Va., placed third on the state level of the PTA's "Reflections" competition.
The Reflections program encourages students to explore the arts and express themselves by giving positive recognition for their artistic efforts. Since it was founded in 1969 by Mary Lou Anderson, millions have benefited from this program.
Students entering the contest create theme-based artwork in dance choreography, film production, literature, musical composition, photography or visual arts. This year's theme was "Believe, Dream, Inspire."
IsaBella has enjoyed art since the age of 2 1/2 when she discovered her grandmother's (Lori Walker) paints and decided to paint while her grandmother was working on a project.
"She loves to paint while I am painting," Walker says. "She is a very creative child and has a love for the arts."
IsaBella's prize-winning painting, "Bella's Dreaming," is a self-portrait showing IsaBella wearing her cheerleading outfit, with a dream bubble and a tooth in the bubble, painted with watercolor.
She writes in her explanation of how her artwork relates to the theme, "I am cheerleading and dreaming of being a dentist/orthodontist."
She also won the Virginia Highlands Festival Youth Art Show in 2013.
