News : Vinton artist Wittmer wins State Fair Concrete Painting Contest

Celebrating Iowa: Angie Wittmer again was chosen as one of the State Fair Concrete Painting artists.

Piecing it all together: Puzzle and quilt pieces on the back of Angie Wittmer's State Fair project.

A close up of the front of Angie Wittmer's First Place 'Iowa' concrete painting project.

Angie's 2011 painting.

Angie honored firefighters with her 'Fire and Ice' project; it earned 2nd place in 2012.

Angie's 2013 project also earned second place honors at the Iowa State Fair.

This is what each artist in the Iowa State Fair Concrete Painting Contest started with.

After earning Second Place honors in the Iowa State Fair Concrete Statue Painting Contest in both 2012 and 2013, Angie Wittmer of rural Vinton won first place in the novice division with her Iowa-shaped project.

Angie and about 40 other artists painted Iowa-shaped concrete with whatever design they felt inspired to paint. Angie’s include a variety of Iowa scenes and history lessons, and a short poem. The back of the project, which she entitled “Piecing it all Together,” has quilt pieces inside of puzzle pieces. The front side spells out "IOWA" and includes scenes of rural life in Iowa, city life in Iowa, the Iowa State Fair and the Iowa wildflower -- the Wild Rose.

Angie also entered a plaster cow in the 2011 Iowa State Fair. Her 2012 project, called "Fire and Ice," was an ice cream cone tribute to firefighters. In 2013, she painted a ribbon depicting many Iowa farm scenes.

“This my fourth concrete statue and it is the most-complicated paint job yet,” said Angie. On her Facebook page, she told friends, “It turned out SOOOOO AWESOME!!!!!!! WHEW! Good job done!!”

Angie learned of her first place honor Friday evening. Fair officials will soon create a map showing the location of the statues. The artists submit designs to the State Fair organizers, who chose which ones can participate. The artists must purchase their own statues, but can keep them after the State Fair is completed.

Look for more information about the judging and whether Angie earns another ribbon at the 2014 State Fair in the near future on Vinton Today. And look for her unique representation of Iowa when you attend the Fair!

See more stories and photos of Angie's three previous State Fair Concrete Painting Contest entries below:

2011

2012

2013