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The Stanly Arts Guild has announced the winner of the Patricia Blake Hartley Art Scholarship for the 2021-2022 school year. Guild members were able to meet and greet scholarship candidates at the annual spring picnic, while enjoying hot dogs and all the trimmings.

Winning the Hartley Scholarship is Eli Williams, son of John Williams Jr. and Nicole Williams of Albemarle.

Eli is a rising junior at UNC-CH, majoring in studio art with a minor in art history. He is in good academic standing with the university and received glowing recommendations from his art professors.

The guild board was especially pleased with the samples of his artwork presented with the scholarship application.

Another scholarship applicant, Claire Carter, a 2022 graduate of WSHS and art student of Randy Fike, will follow her passion at UNC-Asheville this fall.

She was presented with an honorarium for her artwork and for her year-long dedication to the Stanly Arts Guild.

Claire, the daughter of Callie and Chris Huneycutt of Oakboro, has been a gallery volunteer since last summer, working numerous Saturdays at the Guild and Gift Store, 330 N. Second St., Albemarle.

The Guild is grateful to the family of Patricia Blake Hartley for their continued sponsorship of this award, which has assisted many aspiring young artists working their way toward a career that they love.