The cover art for the 2023 Crowder Quill edition has been chosen. The cover will be graced by “Hay Bales” by Maggie Beachner, 2D Art category. Maggie is from Seneca, Mo., and entered in the community division.

“This piece represents my own experiences growing up watching my father cutting and baling the hay fields on our family farm,” Beachner said. “The vibrant colors in the piece are meant to reflect the intense sensory experience of being outdoors in the summertime, smelling freshly cut fields, and playing hide-and-seek behind the bales when they were done. This piece was commissioned by a local community member who enjoys farm scenes and colorful art.

Beachner is a local high school art teacher who has taught at the college level as well as the high school level for over ten years in education, family and consumer science, and art. She enjoys acrylic painting and ceramics and has recently begun selling her art.