As people stand around talking about Scott Barker, about his talent, about his award-winning drawing that's currently on display at the Empire State Building, Scott Barker isn't all that interested.
He sits in the middle of all the hubbub, calmly sketching the face of a cartoon wolf.The sixth-grader from Midvale Elementary may be the least talkative artist since Marcel Marceau. He prefers to let his artwork do the talking.
And one of Scott's pictures recently told the judges of the annual KFC-Family Circle All-American Salute to Mothers to include him in the national finals - which they promptly did.
Thousands of students entered the competition, which appeared in a Family Circle magazine ad. Fifty-one kids were chosen as finalists. In mid-April the grand-prize winner will receive $3,500 in cash and a two-day trip to New York City to attend the award ceremonies. The second-place winner will get $1,500, with $750 for third and $500 for seven fourth-place finishers.
The schools of the top 10 winners will receive research materials and a selected teacher will receive a prize.
The winning entry will then appear on a Mother's Day card produced by Hallmark and be sold around America in Hallmark stores.
Even as one of the finalists, Scott has done well, collecting a $25 gift certificate for a Mother's Day dinner, as well as an atlas of the world and a certificate of achievement.
"He has won other competitions at his school," says Frances Houston, the grandmother who raises him. "He draws all the time. He just sits down and does these wonderful drawings. He's very talented."
For Scott's winning card, he wrote the words "God created the moon, stars and sun - but the best thing he created was you, Mom," then he illustrated the thought with a picture.
As for a more in-depth Portrait-of-the-Artist-as-a-Young-Man, Scott's natural shyness keeps most questioners at bay. He usually responds with a shrug or a smile - especially when the subject is himself or his artwork.
He did say that Disney seemed like an interesting place to work. And that his years at the Jordan Valley Christian School helped him with his drawing style.
Get him talking about the Ninja Turtles or baseball cards, however, and the shell cracks. He scurries off, returning with a box full of cards. When the subject is old collectible cards of the Garbage Pail Kids, for instance, he lights up and speaks his mind.
But then, even Rembrandt was once a 12-year-old boy.