Middletown High School senior, Zoe Maliszewskyj, recently placed first in the “Bee Friendly” category of the Common Market’s annual art contest.  The Common Market holds the contest each year to raise awareness for the environment and the way it helps support humans.

Maliszewskyj has entered and placed in the contest multiple times in previous years. There are numerous categories ranging from recycled art to hand made paintings. Maliszewskyj has entered a piece in most of them. The “Bee Friendly” category was new to the competition this year and she decided to try the new category because she said she had “already competed in the other categories.”

Maliszewskyj said she believes that her artwork was chosen because she was “trying to move towards doing concepts behind art rather than ooh it’s a pretty picture.”

The piece encapsulates how the bees help to support the environment. It makes a bold impact on the viewer and motivates them to help the environment and pay attention to the animals that it supports, including humans.

Maliszewskyj is passionate about art and plans to continue creating pieces as a hobby. She has decided to follow a major of cinematography at Stevenson University after high school. Maliszewskyj believes that her art experiences will help prepare her for the creativity required to become a cinematographer and to help make her successful during and after college.