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Wednesday, September 29, 1999 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER C 3 9 'Mother Earth' Student's painting won him $3,000 By C arol B aldw in ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR illem Pretorius won $3,000, one of eight first place prizes in the Your Future, Your Say competition, sponsored by Lever Pond's Clear Solutions. Pretorius, a White Oaks Secondary School student, won in the senior cat­ egory, visual, for his painting of Mother Earth. Thousands of students from across the country sent in videos, tape recordings, paintings, drawings, poems, and essays depicting issues of importance to them. The competition involved two age categories - 12 to 15 and 16 to 19 - and four project categories - sound bite, visual, written word, and movies and animation. "We were overwhelmed by the number of entries we received and were quite surprised how committed some students were," said Amy Pirie, brand manager for Clear Solutions. "It certainly wasn't an easy job to determine the winners." Pretorius' winning entry portrays Mother Earth as a large, stable, pyra­ mid-type figure at whose feet a multi­ cultural group of people have gath­ ered. In the foreground is a figure removing a blindfold. "The blindfold represents racism, and the viewer is also taking off the blindfold," Pretorius explains. "Once you take off the blindfold, you can see that people may have their differ­ ences, but they're the same." Canada's multi-culturalism inspired the Grade 12 student to focus on racism for the Pond's competition. However, the young Oakville artist says he's been converting his thoughts to images and recording them on paper most of his life. "My dad has his own company. He used to bring home scrap paper and I would draw on the back," says the 16-year-old. "It has always been a fun way to express my ideas." He hopes to continue expressing those ideas through art, and is plan­ ning a career in animation. "I love to sketch," he says, noting that many of his sketches relate to an imaginary planet that he has created in his mind and transferred to paper. "It gets bigger year after year. It could be earth, in the future." Pretorius's prize money is safely tucked away in the bank for now. He's not sure how he'll spend it, but a 3-D animation software program is certainly on his wish list. Photo by Peter C. McCusker Willem Pretorius holds his award-winning painting, titled Mother Earth. The White Oaks Secondary School stu­ dent was one of eight first-place winners who won $3,000 in the Your Future, Your Say competition, sponsored by Lever Pond's Clear Solutions. Photo by Peter C. McCusker Sheridan College is offering an evening of entertain­ ment tonight (Wednesday) to benefit the Wellspring Cancer Support Centre. Enjoy hors-d'oeuvres and a cash bar, and swing to rock 'n' roll favourites with Sheridan Style '99. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $25 and are available by calling the box office at 845-9430. MEDIEVAL HISTORY: William F. Mann was at Erchless on Sunday from 2 to 4 p.m. promoting his book, The Labyrinth o f The Grail. The author gave a small presentation to the invited guests before joining them for a reception and book signing. M O RE than a For all that's fi ne in G Jf. 128 Trafalgar Road, 1 Block N orth of Lakeshore 905-338-7456 morethanagolfshop.com Repossessions, bankruptcy, charge off slow pay record and other credit problems will be overlooked during this approval process for A NEWER QUALITY PRE-OWNED automobile o f your choice* All Spring and UP Summer Apparel Selected G olf Bags FREE Sleeve of Pinnacle Bails w ith any purchase over $ 5 0 w ith coupon Power Windows Dual Power Mir& Door Locks rors . „_ Power Steering Tilt/CruiseAir Conditioning Dual Airbags Power Trunk 3100SFI V6 Engine Split Fold Down Hear Seat Power Brakes AM/FM Stereo Cas sette/CD WEIGHT LOSS CLINIC DAILY AEROBIC CLASSES PERSONAL TRAINING Automatic FREE WEIGHTS LIFECYCLES STEP MILL BABYSITTING HAIR SALON SAUNAS ESTHETICIAN NAUTILUS STAIRM ASTERS TREADMILLS LIFEROWER SUNBEDS MASSAGE THERAPIST NORDIC TRACK Home of the Law Mileage Pre-Owned Vehicles Family Owned & Operated for over 72 Years! PONTIAC • BUICK • CADILLAC • GMC TRUCKS CREDIT DECLINED IN TH E PAST? CALL TOLL FREE 1-877-990-KERR ( 5 3 7 7 ) CREDIT HOTLINE FOR HASSLE FREE FINANCING _ C A D IL L A C P O N T IA C B U IC K IN C 410 South Service Rd. W„ Oakville l ow requirements must he met O A .C ( '.ill tor ileuih Kerr ( .uIiII.k is not responsible tor printing errors Balance of Factory Warranty OR includes 6 month, 10.000 km War­ ranty Burlingtons, Hamilton s, Oakville s Largest Used Car Dealer! 2207 Fairview Street - By the Burlington GO Station • 333-3700 All Cars Ontario Clean A ir Tested & Approved g u a r a n t e e d : - W e Need Your Trades 8 4 9 -1 0 2 1 467 SPEERS RD. (West of Dorval) V By Carol Baldwin 128 Trafalgar Road, 1 Block North of Lakeshore 905-338-7456 with any purchase over $50 with coupon All Cars Ontario Clean Air Tested & Approved guaranteed: - We Need Your Trades