Information in the story has been amended as of January 22, 2015.

The 2015 Newtown Arts Festival winning logo is “Making Music,” a linoleum block print of four Newtown High School Marching Band tuba players that was created by Newtown resident and artist Tracy Van Buskirk.

The selection of this year’s logo was announced recently by Terry Sagedy, chairman of the Arts Festival.

Based on a photograph from a marching band competition, Ms Van Buskirk’s winning linoleum block print background is black oil -based printer's ink, with an overlay of watercolors.

"Over the past 10 years, I’ve worked with teenagers in an outdoor adventure group. Because many of them were also in the high school band, I became aware of what a cultural epicenter the band is for our community: marching in parades, pumping up the crowds at games, and representing our town in out of state competitions. When I learned that the theme of the art contest was “arts and culture” I knew I wanted to do an image of the band," said Ms Van Buskirk.

Ms Van Buskirk, currently a vice president at Webster Bank, is a graduate of Oberlin College in Ohio, with a major in East Asian studies.

“I can still speak Chinese,” she said. "I can still, what they call ‘chit chat.’”

Ms Van Buskirk did not take art classes in college, she notes, “but the atmosphere at Oberlin was so full of the arts.”

She and her husband Peter have two children. The couple’s daughter, Elisa, is a special education teacher in Berkeley, Calif., and son, Dana, a UConn graduate, works at Homefront Farmers in Ridgefield.

A self-taught artist, Ms Van Buskirk also works with polymer clay creating jewelry. Lately, she has been studying at The Center for Contemporary Printmaking, in Norwalk. She is among those who have had work accepted into the annual members show, this year called “Kindred.” The exhibition opens January 25 and will remain on view through March 15.

Ms Van Buskirk also won the NCAC Arts Festival Logo competition in 2012, the festival’s first year. She won the inaugural logo competition with “Life in Newtown,” a block print of Ram Pasture. The artist wanted, she said after learning of her honor, to capture the town’s serenity and pleasure.

“With her block print of Ram Pasture, she captured this tranquil mood and more,” the arts commission said via press release that year. “Her Asian-style rendition of this early burg landmark with its soft pastels reminds viewers of many beautiful days walking or playing by the pasture’s pond or feeding the ducks.”

This year Ms Van Buskirk said she is “amazed and grateful” to have her work selected to represent the arts festival.

The $750 prize that comes with the honor will be used, she said, to purchase additional professional wood carving tools.

Now in its fourth year, Newtown Arts Festival has grown into a month-long celebration of the arts sponsored by Newtown Cultural Arts Commission. It features collaborations with local producing companies and organizations as well as events produced by the commission.

A highlight of the arts festival is two days of art, music, dance, literature, artists, artisans and musicians at Fairfield Hills. This year’s Arts Festival Weekend is scheduled for September 19 and 20.