Eight students represented Haines at Art Fest 2011 in Petersburg last month.

The group included freshmen Coral Bauer, Libby Jacobson, Sasha Mackowiak and Isobel Smith, sophomore Tia Heywood, juniors Cassie Galasso and Jackie St. Clair and senior Melissa Schulze. Art teacher Linnus Danner and parent Liz Heywood were chaperones.

Each student attended two workshops for a combined 30 hours during the April 27-30 event that drew more than a dozen Southeast schools.

"It’s really nice to work with a small group of committed, artistic kids in that workshop setting," Danner said.

Tia Heywood earned the honor of best work created at Art Fest for a fabric collage she made in a textile design workshop.

"She decorated it all very differently and then took all those different fabrics and came up with this really original design, using a lot of embellishments and multiple layers and just a real consistent color scheme and composition," Danner said.

Along with Heywood’s overall award, Haines students also were recognized at their workshops.

St. Clair was named "best in workshop" for Raku.

"Raku is a Japanese pottery, and it’s a process of firing the glazes and then putting them in a burnables bin, which takes away the oxygen," she said. "The glazes cure in an oxygen-free environment, and you get the metallic shades."

St. Clair said she was interested in Raku at previous Art Fest gatherings, but selections are based on seniority and the workshop was full.

Jacobson, as a freshman this year, didn’t get her top choices, but she still "really liked" her work on moccasins and a fabric bag.

"I think that no matter what class you’re in, anyone would enjoy it," Jacobson said.

Bauer was another best in workshop winner for Haines. She made a soapberry spoon carving with an eagle design.

"You have a piece of cedar wood, and you have to carve out the figure of the spoon," she said. "They allow you to choose a Native design, and you get to draw it and paint it on however you want to."

The senior Schulze crafted her first glass mosaic and had never sewn before, but notched two honorable mentions in Petersburg at her first Art Fest.

"I thought it was a really great experience, and I kind of wish I did it all my other years, but I’m glad that I got to do it this year," she said.

Haines student artists will host their annual K-12 show at the Haines School through Friday.