Kapolei Artists Hop Their Way To Finals

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In addition to saving some frogs, Lianne Cagle hopes her Frog Art Contest piece wins the $500 grand prize. Photo from Daryle Mishina.

Kapolei Middle School art teacher Daryle Mishina, his eighth-grade student Tokino Springer and former student Lianne Cagle are among 18 finalists vying for a $500 grand prize in the Frog Art Contest, held by the nonprofit group Save the Frogs!

The three rose to the finals from 394 entries sent in from 10 countries, including Canada, India, Brazil, the United Kingdom, South Africa, Switzerland, New Zealand, the Netherlands and Australia.

“We needed pictures of frogs for our forest habitat art project for the art club,” said Mishina, who has been with the school for four years. “Since we enter contests with our club, it came out perfectly for us.”

They learned through an e-mail from the founder and executive director of the organization, Kerry Kriger, that they were finalists in the art contest.

The public decides on the winner by voting at http://www.savethefrogs.com, and the deadline is Oct. 12. Votes may be cast once per IP address. The winners will be announced shortly after the deadline.

“The winning posters will be used to get the word out about the plight of frogs,” Mishina explained.

Cagle, who is now a junior at Kapolei High School, created a drawing of a blue frog on a tree she calls “Blue Dart.” Springer’s piece is called “Tropical Paradise” and showcases several frogs. Mishina’s submission is titled “Frog Sanctuary,“a poster displaying a variety of frogs.

Entries for the second annual frog art contest will be taken starting in March.