By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
Sometimes the art comes from within. Russell's Tracy Hanzlick began creating art in the first grade. She never attended a formal art school but decades later, her "Indian Family" piece won Best of Show at the 2024 Medicine Lodge Peace Treaty. Hanzlick, a St. Louis native, said it all goes back to having her work exhibited in the St. Louis Art Museum as a first grader.
"I was thrilled to death," she said. "When I went to see it, I thought, 'Okay, that's what I want to be.' All my time, I've just never really showed anything until I retired three years ago from teaching. I decided I'd get serious about my art, and I did."
The Peace Treaty Festival is held on the final weekend of September each year in Medicine Lodge. The event, which commemorates the 1867 Peace Council between the United States Government and Plains Indians, features a rodeo, parade, a powwow, a historical reenactment, and other activities. As part of the art show, Hanzlick created an Indian family using a collage made from magazine and newspaper scraps.
"I usually sketch it first, then I think about the colors I want to use and dig through all the magazines and scraps I have," she said. "I piece them together to make the color of whatever I'm doing."
Hanzlick said "Indian Family" took a couple of months to create. As the Best of Show winner, Hanzlick collected a $1,000 prize. Her art will be featured on posters and other promotional items for next year's Peace Treaty.