Baylor University Nets Five Wins at Kerrville Art Fair

Terry Goodrich, Assistant Director of Media Communications, (254) 710-3321
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Five Baylor University students are winners in the recent 38th Annual Texas Arts & Crafts Fair in Kerrville, including one who won the highest honor -- Emerging Texas Artist.

More than 150 professional artists and approximately 50 students entered the event, which attracted more than 15,000 visitors during Memorial Day weekend.

"Baylor did very well, and we had more students from Baylor than from anywhere else," said Penni Carr, the fair's executive director.

Winners from Baylor, including their categories and their scholarships, include:

? Emerging Texas Artist Winner: Erin Dobbins of Boston, Mass., painting, $5,000.
? Emerging Texas Artist Runner-up: Camille Hawbaker of Phoenix, Ariz., graphic design, $2,500
? Winner, mixed media: Hunter Chambers of Waco, $1,250
? Winner, photography: Jessica Hollis of Coppell, $1,250
? Winner, sculpture: Casey Wright of Boca Raton, Fla., $1,250

All artists competing were Texas residents. Students from eight institutions of higher learning competed in six categories.

Dobbins' oil paintings are "about people and their testimonies," she said. "I ask them to tell me about their lives, and from that I pull out symbolic elements."

An example is her work called nest and anchor: Rom. 15:13, a portrait of a friend symbolizing security in Jesus, she said.

Dobbins, a 2009 graduate who earned her bachelor's degree in studio art painting, said her win is "incredible. I'm just thankful."

She plans to pursue a career as an illustrator, she said.