[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 43 (Tuesday, March 18, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E503]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO SONJA HOROSHKO

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. SCOTT McINNIS

                              of colorado

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 18, 2003

  Mr. McINNIS. Mr. Speaker, it is with much pleasure that I rise today 
to commend a distinguished artist, Sonja Horoshko of Cortez, Colorado, 
for expanding the reach of artistic endeavor in Montezuma County and 
the four-corners region. Sonja is a nationally recognized artist who 
brings an appreciation for art to diverse communities through her 
``Drawing Together'' workshops. Today, I am honored to pay tribute to 
her accomplishments before this body of Congress and this nation.
  ``Drawing Together'' encourages individuals, families and communities 
to create art collectively and with a wide variety of media. In 2001, 
the National Endowment for the Arts awarded Sonja a Challenge America 
Grant to present her workshops to four locations in Montezuma County. 
Eighty-one students, ages eight to sixty-two, participated. This summer 
a film drawn from one of her pioneering workshops with third grade 
Butterfly Dancers will be released at Aztec Ruins National Monument in 
New Mexico.
  Since relocating to Montezuma County in 1993, Sonja has become a 
fixture of the Southwestern Colorado Art Community. She has been an 
artist in residence at Hovenweep National Monument and has received 
grants from Colorado Council of the Arts, the Utah Art Council, and the 
Mesa Verde Museum Association, among others. Internationally, she was 
invited to participate in the 53rd Conference on World Affairs in 2001, 
where she participated in panels connecting art to journalism, science, 
and politics. Sonja's art has also been a platform for activism in 
Colorado, as she represented the rural voice of Montezuma County at a 
conference in Denver focusing on critical statewide issues including 
economic development, tourism, and public health.
  Mr. Speaker, I am honored to rise today and recognize Sonja Horoshko 
before this body of Congress and this nation. Sonja's career models the 
wide scope and influence of art in all its forms. Her workshops teach 
artistic expression to communities and individuals, both young and old, 
encouraging them to tell their own story in their own voice. It is my 
distinct honor to represent such a fine and creative American in this 
Congress and to know that there are individuals, like Sonja Horoshko, 
who constantly strive to create and appreciate beauty in our world.

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