Peninsula College Announces 2026 Tidepools Contest Winners
Published 1:30 am Thursday, April 16, 2026
PORT ANGELES, WA – Tidepools magazine is proud to announce the winners of the 2026 student and community contest in art, photography, writing, and music.
We extend our sincere thanks to all who submitted their work this year. The range of creativity, insight, and expression continues to reflect the vibrant artistic community of the Olympic Peninsula. We are also deeply grateful to our volunteer judges for their time, care, and thoughtful review of each submission.
Winners will be notified via the email address provided on their entry form, along with details on how to claim their awards. All selected works will be featured in the 62nd issue of Tidepools, to be released in early June 2026.
Contributors and community members are warmly invited to celebrate the release at the Tidepools Launch Party on the evening of Friday, June 5, where award winners will be recognized and artists will share their work.
Print copies of Tidepools will be available at the launch party and locations throughout the Peninsula following the release. Congratulations to all the winners!
Youth Categories
Art & Digital Art (ages 0-9)
1st Place – Snowman by Calder Barton, Port Angeles
2nd Place – Monster Fam by Nash White, Port Angeles
3rd Place – Trumpeter Swan by Henry Gayne, Port Townsend
Art & Digital Art (ages 10-13)
1st Place – View by Hoko Saari, Port Angeles
2nd Place – Spring by Ailo Saari, Port Angeles
3rd Place – Breaking Away by Elliot Gayne, Port Townsend
Art & Digital Art (ages 11-17)
1st Place – Vampiric Stone Cathedral by Michelangelo Monet, Port Angeles
2nd Place – Seize the Awkward by Brian Froslie, Sequim
3rd Place – Honey Bee on Borage Plant by Emma Anderson, Sequim
Writing (ages 0-9)
1st Place – Where I’m From by Wolf Schutz-Wade, Port Angeles
2nd Place – Gold by Elle Kazerouninia, Sequim
3rd Place – Alligator Acrostic by Oscar Stratton, Sequim
Writing (ages 10-13)
1st Place – Gold by Hoko Saari, Port Angeles
2nd Place – What Makes Me Special by Adelaide Counts, Port Angeles
3rd Place – My Favorite by Ailo Saari, Port Angeles
Writing (ages 14-17)
1st Place – It’s Nice to Have a Friend by Riley Cole, Port Townsend
2nd Place – Water by Emma Rhodes, Sequim
Peninsula College Student Categories
Art & Digital Arts
1st Place – Medicine Pouches by Karen Sixkiller, Port Angeles
2nd Place – Big Dog Upstairs by Caitlyn Faircloth, Quilcene
3rd Place – Who Controls The Board by Karen Sixkiller, Port Angeles
Photography
1st Place – Connection Through Reflection by Gavin Truckenmiller, Port Angeles
2nd Place – Christmas Fire by Thomas Buscher, Sequim
3rd Place – Dandelion Dreams by Jasmine Bailey, Sequim
Writing
1st Place -Plucking by Ayla Pollick, Sequim
2nd Place – Tanka #5 by Peter Duppenthaler, Port Angeles
3rd Place – Mother Hunger by Ayla Pollick, Sequim
Community Adult Categories
Art & Digital Art
1st Place – Sandhill Cranes by George Seifert, Port Townsend
2nd Place – Secrets Worlds In Trees by Loreen Matsushima, Port Angeles
3rd Place – Buddhabrot I by Lauren Blair Churchill, Sequim
Photography
1st Place – Jamestown Tribal Canoe Landing by Steven Jones, Sequim
2nd Place – Kerry Girls by Marissa LeeAnn Rose, Port Angeles
3rd Place – Trail of Light by Cyrrah Gunia, Port Angeles
Poetry
1st Place – Monica by Rowan Heil, Port Angeles
2nd Place – Sitting on a Cannon by John Delaney, Port Townsend
3rd Place – Of Gods and Planets by Viola Ware, Port Angeles
Prose
1st Place – New Fridge Instructions by Brennan Lawton, Port Angeles
2nd Place – Port Angeles, NYE 2099 by Jon Rea, Port Angeles
3rd Place – A Wish Upon the Harvest Moon by Heidi Hansen, Sequim
Music
1st Place – Guitar Noir by George Seifert, Port Townsend
2nd Place – The Fragility of Life by Lucas Saint James, Port Townsend
3rd Place – The Weissenborn Conspiracy by George Seifert, Port Townsend
About Tidepools
Tidepools Magazine has been published annually at Peninsula College for more than 50 years and features original fine art, digital art, photography, poetry, short prose and music created by residents of the North Olympic Peninsula in Clallam and Jefferson counties. The magazine is run and edited by Peninsula College students with support from the Associated Student Council, the Peninsula Daily News and The Buccaneer.
