Artist Caelie Winchester working at her studio.

OU Student Wins Prestigious Sculpture Award

The International Sculpture Center(ISC) has awarded an OU undergraduate student the award for "Outstanding Contemporary Sculpture 2009," an honor that could bring much publicity to the artist and the university art program, according to the OU website.

According to artist Caelie Winchester, recently graduated from the OU Fine Arts Sculpture program, she was nominated by Professor Jonathan Hils and competed against 441 other entrants to win the top prize. Her work will be featured at the ISC show in New Jersey before going on tour at galleries across the country. She was also featured in Sculpture magazine.

"There is no money involved in the prize, but there is lot's of exposure, which is good for a new artist," said Winchester.

Winchester is taking a year off to work on building her portfolio before applying to graduate schools. She is currently collecting materials, models and trying to arrange a new studio space to use. "I want to do this for a while," said Winchester. "Because I'm really, really liking it."