Andy Close
SHEFFIELD, Pa. – Students from around Warren County recently had the chance to strut their stuff in the form of their artistic abilities.
Sheffield ninth-grader Karson Lyon was among them, and now his work will be one of several that will be featured on billboards in Warren County.
For the second straight year, local students submitted artwork for a chance to be displayed on billboards purchased by CORE (Choosing Openness Regarding Experiences) throughout Warren County. CORE purchases the billboards in May for Mental Health Month.
For Lyon, a talented artist, it was a no-brainer to enter.
“I just kind of wanted to get my artwork out there,” he said. “What better way than to get it onto a billboard.
Lyon’s work features a boy showing his emotions with the quote ‘Don’t Hold it In.’
“Art’s always kind of been my thing,” the talented Sheffield freshman said. “There wasn’t really an inspiration. I saw a guy on YouTube one time, thought his work was really cool, and decided to draw something like that.”
It’s part of a message that CORE is getting out to raise awareness about mental health.
“CORE challenged the high school students to come up with their own messages for Mental Health Month through art which was judged and winners from each school were chosen to have their artwork displayed on the billboards,” CORE founder Kari Swanson said.
The other winners were Warren’s Paige Rafalski and Logan Johnson, Eisenhower’s Katie Bunk and Youngsville’s Liz Kays and Tristan Coccaro.
Lyon’s piece was a true work of art, and he’s excited to see it up on billboards for everyone to admire and appreciate.
“It’s mainly realism,” he said. “I was trying to make it look as real as possible.”
He certainly did that.
“I think it’s going to be really cool to see it up there real big,” he said. “It’s very exciting.”
