In considering artwork for this financial issue’s cover, we thought it would be fun – and refreshing- to get a perspective of currency through the eyes of local youths with a student art contest inviting 2nd to 8th graders in the Iberia Parish Talent Program for Visual Arts to create their depiction of “money.” The entries presented a challenge for the panel of judges, composed of magazine staffers, but in the end, the artwork of Porter Melder captured their attention.

“I had high hopes of winning, but I was surprised when I got the call telling me I won,” says Melder, an 8th grader at Delcambre High School.

His colorful acrylic painting of a swamp scene at sunset is fronted by a dollar bill that is fashioned from the Acadian flag. Melder replaced George Washington’s face with Louisiana’s state bird, the brown pelican, flanked by stalks of rice and sugarcane, symbolizing economically important crops. A bright red crawfish latching onto the top of the bill represents a leader in our seafood industry. “I didn’t want to leave out those important parts of our economy,” Melder points out. The Acadian theme is further emphasized with an “A” inside a star, fleur de lis symbols and a small graphic of an Arc de Triomphe. A mesmerizing sun in the background is balanced by cypress trees.

Artist Paul Schexnayder, who helped organize the contest says, “Porter’s impressionistic interpretation was colorful, clean and clear. It touched on both the mood of Acadiana and the money theme – it was all there.”

A student of the Iberia Parish Talent Program for two years, Melder says, “I’ve always loved drawing. I had a habit of drawing on my arms, and teachers suggested I go into the art program.”

The 13-year-old has worked with charcoals, colored pencils and sculptures, but this was his first attempt using acrylics. “I was set on trying and seeing what I could come up with,” he shares. Lexi Renard, Talent Visual Arts teacher at Delcambre High says, “Porter is very open-minded; he’s never been afraid to try anything in art. When he learned about the contest, he jumped to the challenge of painting with acrylics. We brainstormed about money and Acadiana, and he came back the next week with the idea to recreate the American dollar to reflect the beauty and nature in Acadiana. He intended to put even more detail but ran out of time. I’m so proud of him and the artist he’s become.”

While Melder has entered his work in a couple of school competitions – one of his sculptures making it to nationals – this was the first that brought him exposure on a cover. He plans to enter the painting in the Talent Program’s annual art show, and we wish him luck.