The self-portrait in colored-pencil that MEA (Michigan Education Association) member Amber (Roberts) Thompson entered into this year’s 60th Annual MEA-MAEA Art Purchase Exhibition had very special meaning to her, but she didn’t expect it to win Best in Show.
News that her piece, “Grow Where Planted,” was selected for the exhibition’s top prize left the Otisville middle and high school art teacher speechless, she said.
“When I got the email, I was shocked,” Thompson said. “My family was with me, and they thought something was wrong because I couldn’t speak for a bit. I just felt very thankful that it kind of confirmed my work and that I really am able to do this.”
Thompson is a 2007 graduate of Lapeer Community Schools.