For 24 hours, over 20 students stayed overnight at Billings Central during their Christmas break to challenge their artistic abilities during the 24-Hour Art Challenge. Students from every grade participated to create a masterpiece of their choosing. Most students banded together with their friends and picked a spot in the school to get to work, but there weren’t many siblings who participated in the challenge together. Audrey, Zoie, and Madison Weston were a notable exception.
The Weston Sisters are triplets in the class of 2026. While sisters don’t always share the same interests, the Weston Sisters all share a love for art. However, they each have different artistic interests.
“I had originally worked on drawing a train passing through fall colors…” said Audrey, the oldest of the triplets. Unfortunately, after a few hours, she realized her drawings and acrylic painting skills needed a little work, so she moved on to the medium that she is most comfortable with: watercolors.
While Audrey drew with graphite and painted with watercolors, her sister Zoie painted with acrylics, oil pastels, and oil paints. “I created two paintings,” said Zoie, “along with working on an older painting of mine from a previous year.”
Paintings are the most common projects seen at the Art Challenge, but the youngest Weston Triplet, Madison, made something a little different. “I made two little girls’ dresses, both size three,” Madison said.
At some point, almost every artist procrastinates in their artwork and loses interest in it, but Zoie is different. “I’m not one to idly waste my time, especially with my art,” Zoie said. For most people, it is hard to find a good time to work on an art piece and then finish it. Thankfully, the 24-Hour Art Challenge helps many artists like Zoie finish an art project that they are interested in.
The thought of staying in the school for 24 hours (especially over Christmas Break) terrifies some students. However, most of the students who participated in the challenge find staying in the school for that long to be an interesting experience. “It was fun,” Madison Weston recalled. “I liked being in the cafeteria, because it was quieter.”
The 24-Hour Art Challenge is designed to challenge young artists to create a piece of artwork by pushing the boundaries of their comfort zone. Even though they worked for a long time on projects made from mediums they are used to, the Weston sisters were still very proud of what they created. “I am proud of the train itself in that art piece, but I ruined my project with the acrylics. Very proud of my watercolors, though!” Audrey said, looking on the bright side.
Overall, the Weston triplets, enjoyed hanging out with friends and fellow artists while creating art of their own. The three sisters agree that the challenge is an experience that is truly worth the time. “Even if you aren’t a very social person, the 24-Hour Art Challenge is such a fun way to hang out with friends, create art, and maybe take a break from life for a bit,” said Zoie Weston. “If you’re an artist, you should always take up any opportunities to spend a whole 24 hours doing art,” Audrey Weston said.
