When the State Fair of Texas opens Friday, Sept. 25, visitors will find plenty of local talent among the award-winning entries inside the Creative Arts Building.

From an intricate crocheted blanket and a landscape made from nearly 58,000 seed beads to handmade baskets, digital art, photography and masks, creators from communities across the area earned ribbons in this year’s Creative Arts competitions.

Entries were submitted in July and judged before the fair’s opening. The competition encompasses an extensive range of creative pursuits, with major categories including Canning, Craft Creations, Dolls, Fine Art, Glue-a-Shoe, Hobby Collections, Holiday Corner, Needlework, Photography, Scale Models, Sculpture, Sewing and Quilting and Yarn. Each is further divided into individual contests and classifications.

Wylie resident Melissa “Missie” Rick earned one of the highest honors, Best in Show in the adult Yarn category, for “Astrid’s Wood,” an interlocking crochet blanket that took approximately 225 hours to complete.

Rick’s State Fair experience began only last year, when she entered two smocked dresses and came away with second- and third-place ribbons.

While visiting the fair afterward, she saw the Yarn Best in Show entry and decided to set herself a new challenge.

“I saw the Yarn Best in Show and figured I could make something that could win,” Rick said.

She searched for patterns before settling on “Astrid’s Wood,” which uses a difficult interlocking crochet technique. Essentially, she said, two blankets are crocheted together, with the pattern determined by which color is brought to the front.

“I hadn’t seen one using that same technique so I thought it would be different and stand out,” she said. “And it was a challenge. It was a pretty difficult technique to learn.”

Learning she had won brought another surprise.

“I was pretty surprised and ecstatic when I found out that I had won,” Rick said. “My family was excited for me and we have our fair day picked out.”

She is already considering future entries, including another smocked piece or possibly designing her own interlocking crochet blanket.

“I told my friend I’m probably more fearless than talented,” Rick said. “I say ‘why not’ quite a bit.”

Another Wylie resident, Peggy Ludwig, 70, is no stranger to seeing her work displayed at the State Fair.

Ludwig earned second place in Craft Creations — Miscellaneous for a 20-by-28-inch framed East Texas landscape painstakingly constructed from 57,750 size 11/0 seed beads. Inspired by Caddo Lake, the scene features pine trees and a creek and required about 100 hours to complete.

“I was looking for something that was statewide because it is the state fair,” Ludwig said of choosing the scene.

She has entered the competition for nine years and has earned either a ribbon or honorable mention every year, including a first-place ribbon her first year.

Her technique grew from her earlier experience with cross-stitch. Ludwig had been making jewelry with a friend when she began wondering what else she could create with her supply of beads. She eventually adapted cross-stitch patterns to beadwork, using fishing line and tiny beads laid in rows. 

Ludwig has been selling her beadwork and jewelry at craft shows for about 15 years. She works on pieces regularly to maintain an inventory for the shows she attends.

“It keeps me motivated,” she said. “I do like the competition. Like when you go to the fair and you see all the different stuff and who beat you out.”

In Murphy, 13-year-old Cooper Junior High eighth grader Olive Jimenez earned third place in Craft Creations — Masks, for “Celeste,” a mask she originally created for a friend’s story character.

Jimenez has been making masks for about six months, drawing inspiration from online tutorials, Pinterest, YouTube and friends. Her creation incorporates materials including feathers, paint, hot glue and jewelry.

Her inspiration to enter came during a family trip to last year’s State Fair, when she spotted a mask displayed among the award winners and realized she was already making similar projects at home.

This year she submitted Celeste, a beaded star and several photographs. The other entries earned participation ribbons, but the mask stayed behind after judging — a clue that something special had happened.

“It was really cool because a lot of people in the state put their entries in and I got one of the places,” Jimenez said.

Her mother, Monica Jimenez, said Celeste and Olive’s third-place ribbon will be displayed together in case No. 86 in the Creative Arts Building throughout the fair.

Olive is looking forward to seeing it there.

“It will be really fun and I can’t wait,” she said. “It will be pretty awesome to see my own thing in the glass case and see my ribbon on it.”

Fellow Murphy resident Savannah Marstell is another returning competitor. She earned third place in Photography — Holiday and an honorable mention in the Cultural photography category this year.

Her third-place photograph captured the chandelier at the Winspear Opera House transformed into a Christmas tree and illuminated in red and green for a Leslie Odom Jr. holiday performance.

Her honorable mention came from another memorable outing — a photograph of country flags displayed on the field during a FIFA World Cup match in Dallas.

Marstell and her sisters, Sierra and Kendra, have been interested in photography since high school and have entered State Fair photography contests since 2023. Between them, they have collected several ribbons.

“I was thrilled!” Marstell said of this year’s results. “When I go to drop off the entries and then pick-up the non-winning entries, I see stacks and stacks of photos, so to have not only one, but two of my photos make it is incredible knowing how much competition is out there.”

The sisters have come to view each other’s successes as shared victories.

“My sisters and I joke that any photograph State Fair ribbon is a ‘family ribbon’ even though we all entered in separate photos,” Marstell said.

For the winners, the payoff comes when the State Fair gates open and months — or, in some cases, hundreds of hours — of work are displayed for thousands of fairgoers to see.

Ludwig hopes others might be inspired to try the competition themselves, noting that entering doesn’t require a major investment.

“In reality, it costs 5 bucks to do an entry in the fair,” she said. “It’s dirt cheap…So even if you lose, you had fun.”

Editor’s note: Other residents from the communities we cover also earned ribbons and honorable mentions in the State Fair of Texas Creative Arts competitions. This story highlights local winners who responded to requests for information about their entries.

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