Posted On: April 28, 2020
Meet Lucy Thornton, Hutchens Elementary, 1st Grade
Springhill Medical Center’s Color By Kids Art Contest is held each spring and is open to all Mobile County students. Cash prizes, certificates, trophies, framing of the artwork for the exhibits, and cost of the reception are all covered by the SMH Auxiliary and ownership. The Auxiliary also coordinates the Awards Program which is held at the Mobile Museum of Art each May where all winners are recognized. The winning artwork is exhibited at various locations throughout the Mobile area, then brought back to Springhill Medical Center where it is featured prominently at the front of the hospital until the next group of winners is brought in.
This year’s contest had to be canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic, so the 2019 group of winners will remain in our exhibit area until 2021 when the Contest returns. In addition, we are featuring interviews with our 2019 winners to keep our Contest in the limelight this time of year when it would usually be held.
Meet Lucy Thornton, Hutchens Elementary first grader. Lucy says art makes her feel like she’s going on an adventure to a different world.
“ Painting and drawing, doing any kind of art makes me happy. I love the feeling of being able to ‘step into’ my drawings and paintings, feeling like I’m actually there. I love being able to let my imagination go wild. And I absolutely love being able to make a mess! ”
Lucy was recognized for her painting Llama Love, which won third place in the K-2nd grade division. Lucy has always loved painting, coloring, and drawing. She used paint non-stop as early as 1-2 years old, and, we’re told that her kitchen and living room walls would be covered with her artwork from floor to ceiling. She’s always loved having as many markers, crayons, pencils, paints, glitter, glue, sequins and anything else she can get her hands on to create something. She loves to use stuff that’s going to be thrown out to cut up, glue, and make into something else. She definitely wants to do something creative when she gets older, like become a pastry chef!
She loves being creative in everything she does, not just drawing or painting, but also: baking, working with Play Doh, drawing with sidewalk chalk or taking photos. She’s even been known to draw with her toes in the fresh raindrops on her outside deck.
“Art should be fun, and messy; it always makes me really happy,” Lucy explains.
Anytime she has a scary or bad thought, she daydreams about opening her own jewelry store, cupcake bakery, dress design studio, or ice cream parlor - any thoughts about designing something fun, pretty or yummy makes her happy! When the rest of us look out at a normal backyard, she’s counting imaginary butterflies, or painting sunsets and rainbows in her head. “I love anything art related.”