OROVILLE – When her phone rang during English class on May 3, Las Plumas High School senior Kayla Grozea thought it was a spam call but, “it did say Congressman Doug LaMalfa’s office so I left the classroom to answer just in case,” said the 18-year old.
“I was shocked,” said Grozea about answering the call and finding it really was the congressman’s office calling to tell her she’d won the 2024 Congressional Art Competition for California District 1.
“Oh my goodness, I was excited,” said Grozea. “I called my mom, and she was pretty excited and started messaging other family including my dad.”
The annual national competition, sponsored by the Congressional Institute, honors the artistic achievements of the nation’s high school students. Each member of Congress may choose to host the program in his or her individual district. The winning artwork from each participating district hangs in the Cannon Tunnel of the U.S. Capitol for one year. The tunnel is the most highly traveled access point between the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Capitol.
Grozea’s acrylic on canvas painting, “Soaring Above Lake Oroville Dam,” was one of 31 entries from LaMalfa’s district for the 43rd annual competition. The theme for this year’s contest was “Dams and Lakes for Goodness Sakes — Storing water for flood and food.” The entries were judged by three artists from District 1.
“This piece is a testament to the long and storied history Lake Oroville has in Butte County and will represent the north state in the halls of the Capitol, for visitors and my colleagues to view on the way to the House floor,” LaMalfa said in a press release.
The senior’s impressionistic-style painting depicts a bald eagle soaring above the Oroville Dam and lake with the Mother Orange Tree, the oldest living orange tree in Northern California, in the foreground.
“I go walking on the dam so the painting is my experience of going to the dam — the warmth of the sun and the mountains in the horizon,” said Grozea. “The reason I chose the eagle is that we have 77 bald eagles living at the lake and I thought it would be a good component. Combined with the dam and lake, it was a good representation of the water and the life it supports. I included the Mother Orange Tree because it’s part of our history and deserved a spot in the painting.”
In addition to having her painting exhibited in the U.S. Capitol, Grozea also received two tickets to fly to Washington, D.C. to see the exhibit. She and her mother, Rebecca Grozea, plan on making the trip at the end of June.
Grozea also entered the Congressional Art Competition in 2023, placing second. Her 2023 entry, an acrylic on canvas of a plane flying over a rice field, has hung in LaMalfa’s Chico office for the past year.
“When I entered this time, it was really for fun because I wanted to — not because I wanted to win,” said Grozea. “This time I painted how I like to – an idea comes into my head and I let my hand do the thinking. I just let go and it gives me a sense of freedom, art freedom.”
Grozea, who is already registered to attend Butte College’s EMS program after graduating with hopes to get into the fire academy, has been creating art since she was in kindergarten but said she got “more into it” when she entered high school where she took an art appreciation class in her freshman year and has taken art classes with teacher Rita Scofield since she was a sophomore.
“Students like Kayla don’t come along all the time,” said Scofield. “She does a great job; is consistent in her practice; and works hard on everything she does. Winning this contest is the culmination of four years of hard work. It’s really nice to see that work rewarded.”
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