December 24, 2003
Beauchamp creates award-winning card
Image drawn by local sixth-grade student chosen for Children's Miracle Network
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
Veering from his usual subject matter of skateboarders, sports and action figures, Neal Beauchamp created a card that placed his artwork in malls around the state.
His work and the drawings of two other girls in the state were chosen to represent the Children's Miracle Network in a fundraising card sale.
A sixth-grade student at Courtade Elementary School, Beauchamp put colored pencil to paper in September at the behest of his art teacher and created a bright lighthouse scene. Following the guideline to 'draw something pleasant,' Beauchamp decided on the lighthouse scene. He surfed the Internet looking for pictures of lighthouses but a low-tech inspiration intervened:
"I looked on the Internet because I wanted to do a lighthouse, just didn't know how to do it," said Beauchamp, 12. "Then I saw this Kleenex box and I liked it."
After drawing the lighthouse, Beauchamp threw in a lake, setting sun, birds and a keeper's cottage, and his vision was complete. He also departed from his usual monochromatic style, giving his card vivid blocks of color.
He created the winning card on a second try, tossing the first draft out because it was "really bad."
"It is fun to be an artist, I like to draw a lot," said Neal Beauchamp, who is also an avid soccer player and plays on the TBAYS select team.
When he learned before Thanksgiving that his work was chosen, Beauchamp was thrilled, recalled his mother, Jill Beauchamp.
"He said it was the best thing that ever happened to him," she recalled. "He was pretty excited."
Winning a $25 gift certificate to the mall for his entry, Beauchamp is already pondering ways to make his artwork pay: maybe a line of cards would be a winning idea.
One of his artistic inspirations over the years has been his cousin, Kalin Wood, an 11th grade student at Central High School. Wood, who writes and draws cartoons for the school's newspaper, has always been an encouraging mentor, willing to spend time teaching his younger cousin.
"He's so good, he's going to be an artist someday," said Beauchamp, proudly recalling that Wood highly praised his use of color in the cards.
The Children's Miracle Network is a non-profit organization headquartered in Salt Lake City that helps fund children's hospitals throughout North America. A network of 170 children's hospitals treated more than 17 million children last year. Money from cards such as the one Beauchamp drew are just one of many fundraising events that keep the Children's Miracle Network going.
Packages of cards including Beauchamp's drawing are available locally at the Customer Service desk at the Grand Traverse Mall. The cost is $10 for a pack of 12 cards.