A West Central Valley senior was listed as one of the best artists in the state earlier this month, and it’s not her first time making the list. Becca Winfred achieved All-State distinction for the second consecutive year. On top of that, Winfred was listed as the fourth best artist in the state. A panel of four judges critiqued submissions from across the state, and ranked each of the ten pieces on a scale of 5-10. The competition also included an essay portion, scored from 1-5.

Winfred talks about her start in art at a young age. “When I was little, I would draw art and people would be really excited about it and that really pumped me up about it. I was really into it I guess and I liked the praise I got for it at the time and I wanted to keep feeling that. So I just kept doing my art and I’ve gotten twice the encouragement since then.”

She also credits her high school art teacher, Marcus Claire, for encouraging her to hone her craft. “I want to say thank you to him for everything he’s done, (for) the materials he’s given me, (and) the encouragement. He’s given me opportunities as well and I can’t thank him enough for that.”

Winfred and the other 22 All-State artists will be honored at an awards reception on Saturday, May 5th at the Des Moines Art Center. The reception starts at 1:30pm, with the awards ceremony to follow at 2. She plans to attend Grandview University in Des Moines after graduation, majoring in Studio Arts and hoping to obtain a certificate in art therapy.