Vail Valley Art Guild member Andrew Pranger worked with Eagle County Schools' Gifted/Talented Program to create a program for the county's gifted art students. Previously there were only gifted programs in areas such as math and science. Once identified, students had to put together a portfolio of their work and appear for an interview as part of the application program. 17 students were selected from Eagle Valley High School, Battle Mountain High School and all Eagle County Middle Schools. These students met for special classes culminating with a juried art show at the Vail Valley Art Guild Gallery on June 4, 2021.
One of these students, a high school senior, had been adopted as a baby from China. She used this arts program to investigate her feelings about going to China to find her birth parents. In this painting, which was part of her portfolio, she depicts herself as a small child in the arms of her American mother and father surrounded by love with a dream bunny whispering in her ear. She has been accepted into the South Carolina School of Art and Design and will pursue a career in art.