HOMESTEAD AIR RESERVE BASE, Fla. -- Recently, it was announced that the 482d Fighter Wing’s own Ms. Linda Zorichak took first place in the 2023 Air Force Art Contest.
Zorichak, who serves as a unit program coordinator for the 93rd Fighter Squadron, won in the “Adult, Accomplished, 3D” category. This category is for artists who are over 18 years old and either have formal training, sold works of art or won in other contests. The art piece she entered was a scarf, which is a three-dimensional object.
The winning scarf titled “Royal Space” is an 8” by 54” silk scarf with multiple colors throughout.
“It started life as a plain white China silk scarf that I pinned to a stretching frame and freehanded a design onto with a resist,” Zorichak said. “Once the resist outline dried, I painted it with silk dyes. The dyes are set using a steaming process making the scarf colorfast and wearable.”
The piece took her about 10 hours to make and incorporated bold colors with flowing foliate and scroll designs.
Zorichak learned about scarf painting from a friend in 2017 and has been creating numerous pieces since. She is a talented painter who previously used other media for her work such as stained glass. In fact, when she worked for the Army, she entered her artwork into that branch’s art contests.
“I’ve been an artist since I was a child and often enter contests,” she said. “It’s fun entering contests and a great motivator. I work throughout the year to produce note-worthy pieces for entry.”
She said she had placed in military art contests before but never received the top prize until now.
“I was so excited,” she said. “They initially told me I had placed but waited until the very end to tell me that I had won first. It is such a privilege to work at the 93rd, but it is also nice to be acknowledged as an artist.”
She encourages everyone to enter the contest just as she will next year.
For more information about the Air Force Art Contest visit https://forcesupport.awardsplatform.com/about/OPpmROrw