15-year-old's powerful artwork takes 3rd place

Young artists have entered many interesting pieces in the Southeast Open Judged Exhibit at Steinbach Arts Council (SAC).  

15-year-old Dezyrah Stobbe of St. Anne tells us about her artwork made from pencil crayons and markers.  

“The title of the piece is ‘Rapacity’. I named it that because it means aggressive greed,” Stobbe explains. “My piece meant that no matter how hard someone tries to please, it will never be enough for the ones who are trapped in selfish desires.” 

The piece started as a school project, but she wanted it to be more because of the deep meaning.  

“It transformed as I created it. It started as just the skull in the middle. Then I added more to it, which were the hands ripping it apart, and that’s how I came up with the name.” 

Stobbe's art piece that won her a third-place ribbon.

Stobbe was rewarded with a third-place ribbon for the incredible work. Her family was thrilled, including her dad who also entered a piece. 

“We were in the arts council a lot and my dad was doing it, so I decided why not join as well,” she explains. “It’s a good way to bond with him because we have stuff in common, so it's a good way to build a relationship.” 

The piece took approximately three weeks to complete and was the first piece she ever entered at SAC.  

“I was a bit excited but also nervous because it was something new. When we were in there looking at all the other art pieces, you could see people pointing at different ones, so it was scary knowing that they saw it.” 

At a young age, Stobbe began creating artwork with basic tools like pencils and pencil crayons, which progressed to using an iPad to design artwork. She has developed skills to create intricate and meaningful pieces like the one entered at SAC. 

Designing and creating art has now become a release for Stobbe and a way to express her emotions.  

“It is a lot easier than saying it openly, you can say it through a picture.”  

Stobbe enjoys creating art in her free time and wouldn’t be opposed to making it her career. Moving forward, she hopes to create more perspective pieces.

-With files from Dave Anthony, Michelle Sawatzky 

Here are some other winning pieces from the Southeast Open Judged Exhibit: