Painting Earns Kozma 2nd Place Ribbon at State Fair
By Amy Polk

After Cedarville art teacher Joanna Izzard convinced her student, Eric Kozma, to save the colored pencil and pastel picture he had made in her class, Mr. Kozma's art went on to win top awards at the 2006 Chippewa County Fair and a second place award at the 2007 Michigan State Fair.

When Eric Kozma received his returned entry from the Michigan State Fair two weeks ago, he was surprised to find a ribbon with his award-winning picture. The Hessel resident won second place in the 2007 state fair's art show.

Not bad for a piece of work he nearly destroyed. His art teacher, Joanna Izzard, convinced him to spare the piece, which he had made in her class. The mixed media image was made with colored pencils and pastels, and depicts a waterfront village with brick towers and canals. His mother, Colleen Kozma, said the picture reminds her of Venice, Italy. The picture was an assignment that was to incorporate architecture and mixed media, but after working on it for weeks and getting frustrated, Mr. Kozma said, "I was ready to burn the picture."

Thanks to Mrs. Izzard's intervention, Mr. Kozma not only saved the picture, but went on to enter it in the Chippewa County Fair's youth art show last year. He won Best of Show in the youth art show and a Gold Award, which qualified him to enter this year's state fair community arts show.

The Gold Award is a special distinction given at a county fair for excellence in a particular division, such as art. Winning the award qualified the piece for competition among other Gold Award winners from around Michigan. People who choose to enter their work in the state fair in Detroit can send their items to the fair by August 1, then fair staff will prepare the piece for showing. After judging, items remain on display until prepared for mailing back to the owner. The Kozmas received the piece back September 13, two weeks after the fair closed.

"We didn't know he won, until we opened up the package and saw the award lying on top," Colleen Kozma said.

The family is thrilled with the recognition of what Mr. Kozma says is just a hobby for now. He is a junior at Cedarville High School, and is starting to think about what he wants to do in the future.

"I don't think I'm going to pursue a career in art, but I don't think I'm ever going to stop doing it," Mr. Kozma said.

Artistic talent appears to run in the Kozma family, where Eric is the youngest of Colleen and Darrell Kozma's four sons. His father creates custom-made gun stocks and loves watercolor painting, while his older brother, Mark, is pursing a fine arts degree at Central Michigan University in Mount Pleasant.

Aside from the family influence, however, Mr. Kozma's mother and his art teacher say he has developed his talent on his own.

"Eric is really self-motivated, and he takes things on outside of school art class," Mrs. Izzard said. "He thrives on difficult projects, and it seems the more difficult the assignment, the more he relishes it. He pursues things on his own, like entering this picture in the fair."

He also entered another six projects in this year's Chippewa County Fair, and earned blue ribbons for all of them.

Fairs are little known outlets for local creativity, Mrs. Kozma said, and she had no idea the state fair had competitive opportunities for artists. Many think the fair is limited to livestock and produce, but local and state fairs offer a whole realm of judging categories for art, home crafts, photography, and even collections, she said.

"In addition to fairs, there are so many opportunities available through Michigan State University", she said, listing some of the programs her son has participated in since second grade, like 4-H Exploration Days in East Lansing, the Great Lakes Natural Resource Camp, and local youth clubs.

She encourages other local artists to enter their works in fairs.

"For such a small community, we seem to have many young artists here, and I think there are a lot of opportunities for artists in the area that few seem to know about," she said.