The Big Sandy Mountaineer -

Juliet MacDonald, an artist from Box Elder schools, has created a banner and entered the Paint the State/Meth contest. You will find her artwork online at Paint the State (paintthestate.org), or it's on the fence at the Box Elder School. It's worth the drive to see it in person. It's a huge banner. It is well worth voting for and well worth it for this Box Elder Senior. If she gets the most votes in the county, she can win $3,000; if she wins the statewide competition, she can win $10,000.

Juliet was so much fun to interview. I found her confident and engaging.

Juliet traveled to Helena and gave a speech at the capital about her project. The following was the speech she gave:

"I hope this piece when it's displayed in our school and community, will spark a conversation about how negatively drugs can impact the lives of young people and families and, on the contrary, how beautiful life can be without the influence of drugs."

"I believe art is putting creative ideas from your head into the physical world. For example, I think of original characters and stories in my head, and I put them on paper then they take on a life of their own. One day, in fact, I plan to design a graphic novel. The first time I remember creating a piece that I felt proud of was in sixth grade. I created a monster-like character using my iPad, and when I completed the finished product, I felt... The concept of "the monster" has been something I've worked with in many of my pieces."

"Using that theme, I started making the piece I've designed for Paint the State after my art teacher, Mrs. Elliott, my classmates, and I started discussing the impacts drugs have had in our community. I like to think of a normal person, someone who is not doing drugs, as a healthy tree-someone who is blooming and thriving. But when someone's using drugs, there's a monstrous effect. It can make someone rotten."

"Art is a way to tell a story. I like making original characters, so I like drawing to fill out their stories. When I look at my original work, I kind of see sibling trees. That are connected to each other. Maybe they were close to each other and healthy together, but at one point, one sibling made decisions that led to rot and monstrosity. But they're still connected. If you have a personal connection to someone who has drug problems, you take on the responsibility to help them through it."

"I created this work using Procreate, and then the file was sent to be digitally printed onto the banner material displayed now."

She plans on going to Stone Child for one year before transferring to the University of Montana to study Art design.

Juliet said, "I just encourage anyone to do art or some form of craft because art is a great way to express yourself, like physically. And a lot of people, when they first start art, always say how they're bad at it and won't ever be good. But it's like everything else. It just needs practice to perfect it because that's how I started. My art was bad when I first started, like everyone." She has been doing art for seven years.

She would like to acknowledge her art teacher, Mrs. Elliott. Juliet did get emotional when she talked about her. "She's like the best I've ever had. She really encouraged my art and allowed me to grow. I would go to our classroom and just be there- just be myself there."

Let's go vote for her.