Skyview High Wins 2014 War of the Walls Competition
Duo from the Heights is the winner of this year’s War of the Walls mural competition!
BILLINGS, MT, May 16, 2014: Nicolette Wallman & Karsyn Smith from Skyview High School are the winners of this year’s War of the Walls mural competition.
Voting was held on MasterLube’s Facebook page over the past week and a half. Skyview took the prize with a 1.4% margin of victory, edging out Senior High and Billings Central in 2nd and 3rd place respectively. Wallman and Smith will be awarded a traveling trophy and bragging rights for the year.
Meet the Artists
Nicolette Wallman and Karsyn Smith – Skyview High School
Nicolette Wallman and Karsyn Smith are into classic tattoo art. But you won’t find these two inking Navy sailors. Together, they designed a mural for Skyview High School that used elements of old fashioned tattoos to represent different parts of their high school. “The roses represent the Lady Falcons,” explained Nicolette, “while the Falcon represents the football team; the strength of the supporting classmates are represented by the red ribbon.”
Karsyn, 17, and Nicolette, 18, both choose to paint the mural so their work could be seen by the public. Nicolette, daughter of Robert and Emily Wallman, began creating art before she can remember. She and Karsyn, daughter of Lincoln Smith and Lois Dickson, will both ship off to the University of Wisconsin – Green Bay to continue their creative growth while working towards art degrees. Karsyn hopes to land a job in the field of concept art.
Aside from their creative endeavors, Karsyn enjoys acting, historical fashion and anything to do with the movies. Nicolette participates in Art Club and National Honors Society. You’ll find her spending her free time swimming, traveling, taking photos, and enjoying a nice cup of coffee.
Morgan McDonnell – Billings Central Catholic High School
Seniors at Billings Central Catholic High wanted something unique for this year’s mural design. So Morgan McDonnell, 18, with help from some friends, set her sights on something more abstract. And with buckets of lime green and black paint, she made something that really “pops.” “We wanted to create a ram that was way different from those in the past,” she explained, “We also wanted the cross to really pop because it is a strong reminder that faith is a huge part of being a student at Billings Central.” To Morgan, this year’s mural represents her classmates’ faith and uniqueness.
Morgan, daughter of Bryan and Marcene McDonnell, has loved art since she can remember. And the future brings an opportunity for her to continue her talent by studying architecture at Arizona State University. She hopes to incorporate her own style and designs into the work she produces.
When she isn’t indulging in her artistic endeavors, Morgan also participates in cross country and track.
Jaymee Badgett – Laurel High School
Jaymee Badgett’s idea for a mural for Laurel High School started on a whim. The art department was holding a contest to decide who would get to paint the design. On the day of the deadline, Jaymee, daughter of Jay & Misti Badgett, suddenly had an idea. “I sketched it out really quick and turned it in by the end of the class period,” she explained. And while her idea for the mural may have come from out of the blue, her love of art has been brewing for the last four years. Her first art class with Mrs. Hudson started the ball rolling. Now, Jaymee credits Mrs. Hudson, Ms. Garner, and her friend and coworker Jenelle Mehling with influencing her artwork. She is excited to be able to publicly display her talent through the mural.
Summer days allow Jaymee, 17, to spend time playing golf, and working at Baskin Robbins keeps her very busy. She is also involved in National Honor Society and each year, she looks forward to the group’s service project with Special Olympics.
She plans to continue her education by majoring in business at Montana State University in Bozeman and then obtaining her cosmetology license. She hopes to someday open her own salon.
Austin Berg – Billings West High School
Austin Berg loves West High. When a friend told him that there was a school contest to decide who would get to paint a mural representing the school, he jumped on it. “It was the day of the deadline and I just thought of a cool sketch and submitted it,” he explained. And while he has been sketching and drawing his whole life, this particular sketch afforded him a $100 prize and the opportunity to represent the school he loves.
Austin’s passion for his school is rivaled only by his love of golf. As a member of the West High golf team, he is particularly excited to continue playing the sport at the collegiate level when he attends Montana State University Billings in the fall. The son of Steve and Benita Berg, Austin is looking forward to getting some time in the tee box this summer.
When he isn’t golfing, Austin, 18, likes to hang out with his friends and play video games.
Angelina Malcomson – Billings Senior High School
Angelina Malcomson has been creating art since she was old enough to hold a pencil. She sketched and painted her way through elementary and junior high. Then, as a freshman at Billings Senior High School, she found out that every year a member of the senior class was chosen to design and paint a mural at the MasterLube on Grand Ave. And when her senior year began, she was ready to put her hat in the ring! She wanted to “show a fearless and stubborn bronc to represent the tenacity of the student body. From the eccentric and creative students striving to be unique to the athletes who show up to every sporting event and give it their all,” she explained.
Angelina, 18, says that her dad and mom, Jerry and Laura, and her brother Jerry, have had the biggest influence on her artwork by giving her different ideas and helping her improve her skills. She plans to continue her artwork by taking some college art courses while she works on her pre-veterinarian degree at Montana State University in Bozeman. She plans to attend veterinarian school in Washington.
Aside from artwork and studies, Angelina works at Petsmart and enjoys hunting, fishing and spending time outdoors with her friends, family and animals.
