WALES — A Kettle Moraine High School student won a prestigious award for her art piece. Sadie Groskruetz is an American Vision Medal winner in the 2025 Scholastic Art Competition.
To be nominated for the American Visions Award, participants must first earn a Gold Key in their region. Jurors from each region then select up to five works to be American Visions Award Nominees.
Groskruetz won a Gold Key in the Scholastic Art & Writing Contest. She was nominated for the National Scholastic American Visions Award for her piece "Mr. Fluff Butt."
"I made this giant textured monster because I was in an art museum and was a little irritated that I couldn’t physically touch and interact with any of the art. I wanted this to be a piece that promoted audience interaction with art. I want people to feel all the textures and fabrics and hopefully appreciate it with more than one sense. There is a ‘Please Touch Me!’ sign that goes with this piece, which ironically, the Museum chose not to include with the displayed piece," Groskruetz said.
The Kettle Moraine School District said Wisconsin regional judges select five superior works from the Gold Key winners as nominees for the American Visions Award medal. National judges then award one outstanding artwork from each regional exhibition. Groskruetz’s piece is one of five pieces nominated from the Wisconsin region. That is one piece out of 2,500 (estimated), and 1 out of 150 Gold Keys awarded. There are only 250 nominees nationwide, the district said.
The nominees are reviewed by national judges and one nominee from each region is selected to receive a National American Visions Medal. Only 150 students out of 120,000 entrants, or .125% (1/10th of 1 percent) are awarded Medals. The Medal honors works that display originality, skill, and the emergence of a personal voice and vision. Previous winners include: Andy Warhol, Stephen King, Joyce Carol Oates, Sylvia Plath, Paul Newman and Ken Burns.
