AN Eastbourne schoolgirl’s imaginative portrayal of a spider creating its own web has caught the attention of judges in a prestigious national art competition.
Sofiia Smorgun’s winning artwork was inspired by her seeing a spider’s web glistening in the sunshine after a rain shower. She then illustrated it with sparkly paint dots over the spider’s web.
Sofiia, a pupil at Bede’s school in Eastbourne, was aged ten when she submitted the entry in the national competition organised by the Rotary in Great Britain and Ireland (RIBI).
Fellow pupil Livvy Giffard was runner-up in the junior category, which was for children aged up to ten years.
This was the first part of three phases leading up to a national competition run by RIBI. The theme of the competition was “Rebuilding” and judges looked for “inspiration, ingenuity and creativity”.
The competition’s first phase was organised by the Rotary Club of Eastbourne and sponsored by the Eastbourne Arts Society, which also judged the entries.
Sofiia’s stunning winning entry was submitted into the second phase of the competition, encompassing Rotary Clubs from across the south-east Rotary 1120 District.
Sofiia’s artwork was once again the judges’ favourite against entries from across Kent and East Sussex, South-East London and even Gibraltar.
Alan Langley, president of the Rotary Club of Eastbourne, said: “To be declared a winner in this phase of the competition already reflects a high standard.
“Although her entry was, sadly, not the national winner, Sofiia’s much-acclaimed art was the first ever from Eastbourne to have achieved this level of acclaim.
“Huge congratulations to both Livvy and Sofiia for participating in the competition, and to Bede’s Prep School’s Head of Art, Rachel Armitage, for encouraging the potential and creativity of these young artists.”
The Rotary Club will organise another competition next year, under the topic “Wonderful Water”, with an entry closing date of mid-January 2025.
