Tera Reed can add a couple more awards to her resume. The Allen Community College art instructor had two paintings selected for the 45th Annual Smokey Hill Art Exhibition in Hays during the last week of April.
Judges selected 64 pieces out of 247 entries. Reed said the competition was limited to Kansas residents, with their work from the last two years. She won an award for her painting, “Haymoor.” With it came a $450 stipend.
“I haven’t been out there to see the show yet,” Reed said. “They do send a catalog of when it’s done.”
The Chanute native is no stranger to art shows. Most recently, her work has been shown at the Mary L. Martin Gallery in the Bowlus Fine Arts Center and the Stone House Gallery in Fredonia.
Reed said she doesn’t like one particular method over another.
“You can love one particular thing but you need to be well-rounded,” she said.
She does however like to paint trinkets and her favorite part is naming the artwork.
Reed received her associate of art degree from Neosho Community College in 2005 and her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in painting from Pittsburg State University in 2009 and 2010. She has been at Allen as an instructor for three years.
“My experience here has been wonderful,” she said.
In the fall she and her fiancé, Jason, are to be married in Chanute.
Reed would like to see the enrollment numbers in the art department grow more.
“Our scholarships are similar to athletics,” she said. “They cover tuition and books, too. I don’t think people realize that.”
Reed said the fine arts department is like a family. Instructors work together to see the department succeed.
“I would like for us to be so massive they have to build another wing,” Reed said. “I would like to get more kids at Allen and get more kids in the arts.”
