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Boone student wins Congressional Art Contest
by Staff Reports

Sophomore McKenzie Chasteen of Boone has been selected as a winner of the annual Congressional Art Contest for the Fifth District.

Chasteen and her mother, Kim Chasteen, traveled to Washington on June 26 to visit with Rep. Virginia Foxx for a ceremony in their honor and a tour of the Capitol grounds.

Art competition winners are selected from each Congressional District within the United States. For the year following their recognition, the winners' artwork is displayed in the Capitol complex.

"McKenzie Chasteen represented Watauga well today," Foxx said. "I'm so happy that the Congressional Art Competition gives talented students like McKenzie the opportunity to come to their Capitol for recognition and a front row seat to the work that goes on in the People's House. Hundreds of thousands of visitors pass through the Capitol each year, and I'm glad McKenzie's artwork will be enjoyed by so many."

Chasteen's winning piece was an acrylic painting titled "Poppies." It took her more than a month to perfect her painting, which she originally presented to her mother as a Christmas gift. Chasteen is a student at Grace Academy.

She said she was honored to be part of the competition and to tour the Capitol.

"The collection of art hanging in the Capitol is extraordinary, and I'm blessed to be a part of it," Chasteen said.

For the third year, the winner of the Fifth District art competition was decided by a vote of Foxx's Facebook audience.

Last year's winner also was from Watauga County. Noah Padgett, a student at Watauga High School, won with a pen-and-ink drawing titled "Homeland."