Two state Best of Show winners in one family? Six siblings who have all
placed more than once? A family of nine that supports itself by its
artwork? Yes, and more than that; let me introduce you to our family.
My
parents, Ben and Melanie Firth, and the seven of us - myself, Aurora
(20), Barnabas (17), Sarah (15), Silas (12), Josiah (10), Anna (7), and
Aspen (3), live on Alaska's Kenai Peninsula just south of the little
town of Anchor Point, in a 1900-square-foot house that we've been
building out-of-pocket over the past three years. A ten-minute walk
from our house takes you to the edge of a bluff overlooking the Anchor
River. The town of Homer is about fifteen miles south, on the very tip
of the Peninsula, jutting out into Kachemak Bay.
From the
first, our parents had intended to homeschool their children, and none
of the seven of us have ever attended public school. Mama attends to
our academic education, Daddy teaches us art, and some of us take music
lessons from a friend.
We moved
to Fairbanks, Alaska from Pennsylvania in 1996 and lived there for five
years. During our last years in Fairbanks, we came down here in the
summers and worked to build the Ben Firth Studio on Mile 161 on the
Sterling Highway.
Our
studio showcases Daddy's artwork, which includes pencil, pen-and-ink,
and watercolor, as well as sculpture in antler, wood, and bronze. Most,
though not all, of it is for sale. Also on display and for sale is
Mama's etched glassware and our - the children's - crafts and artwork,
including our Duck Stamp drawings.
Six years
ago, in 2001, Daddy told me about the Junior Duck Stamp competition and
asked if I wanted to try entering. I had two weeks before the deadline.
I worked hard on "The Way to the Sea", a colored pencil drawing of a
Harlequin drake, but I think I was as shocked as anyone when I won Best
of Show for the State of Alaska! That was the beginning of it all. The
next year, Barnabas, Sarah, Silas, and I entered; in 2003, Josiah
began; in 2006, Barnabas decided to stop entering, but Anna began, and
my first art student, Emily Coble, began as well. That was also the
year in which I had to stop entering, after my graduation from
homeschooled high school. This year, Sarah, Silas, Josiah, and Anna, as
well as Emily Coble from Homer and Luke and Stacy Martin from Anchor
Point, my art students, submitted their entries under Daddy's and my
teaching. Emily and Stacy are both 7, and Luke is 11.
Here's
how the competition works: the Federal Junior Duck Stamp Conservation
and Design program is for public, private, and homeschooled students
from kindergarten through twelfth grade. In the schools, a student's
entry is regarded as a term paper, encouraging the student to represent
what he has learned about waterfowl and their habitat and conservation
through art. Each state and U.S. territory has its own competition, in
which the entries compete in four divisions: K-3rd grade, 4th-6th
grade, 7th-9th grade, and 10th-12th grade. In each division, 16
Honorable Mentions, 3 Third Places, 3 Second Places, and 3 First Places
are awarded. The judges then take the 12 First Place winners, and from
among them, select the State Best of Show winner. Next, the 50-some
Best of Show winners are sent to Washington, D.C., where a panel of
judges selects the National Best of Show winner from among them. This
piece of art is then printed as a $5 collectors' stamp.
I won
Best of Show for the State of Alaska in 2001, 2003, 2004, and 2005, and
a First Place in 2002. In 2005, my last entry, a pastel-and-colored
pencil drawing of a pair of Hooded Mergansers, placed among the Top Ten
nationally. Sarah, after having won an Honorable Mention, 2 Third
Places, Second Place, and First Place, came through this year as
Alaska's Best of Show winner with a pastel-and-colored pencil drawing
of a pair of Cinnamon Teals. Her piece also placed among the Top Ten
nationally. Barnabas has won an Honorable Mention and 3 Second Places,
Silas, 2 Honorable Mentions and 2 First Places; Josiah, Honorable
Mention, Third Place, Second Place, and First Place, and Anna, a Second
Place. This year, in addition to Sarah's Best of Show, Silas, Josiah,
and Anna all won First Places, Emily a Third Place, Luke an Honorable
Mention, and Stacy a Second Place. Honors all round!
The Duck
Stamp, as we call it among ourselves, has been good for our family in
several ways. For one thing, all six of us who have entered have found
that our waterfowl identification abilites have mysteriously increased.
We look forward to the coming of migratory ducks in spring, and as we
drive by the pools at the side of the road, we are generally able to
call out,
"Mallard pair to the right!"
"Oh, look, a Barrow's Goldeneye--no, actually it's a Common
Goldeneye--look at the shape of the Spot."
"Bufflehead over here!"
Needless
to say, it has helped the growth of both our artistic abilities and our
interest in art. I've developed a helpful technique for soft pastel
backgrounds, and what we do with colored pencils has surprised people.
We have learned to more truly appreciate the beauty and design of what
God has created in nature as we try to represent it in our work, and
the conservation aspect of the program has helped us in learning the
importance of being good stewards of His creation.
I could
go on and on, but I'll stop now with an invitation to stop and see us
if you're ever in our area. Our studio is open mid-May through
mid-September, Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and it's
always open by appointment if you don't come in the summer. You can
also visit our website at www.benfirthstudio.com. The ocean and
mountain scenery around Anchor Point and Homer is awesome, and the
salmon and halibut fishing is world-famous. (Did I mention that there
is also great art?) We hope to see you some day!
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