A painting by Solanco High School senior Anika Hodgdon has been accepted into the 42nd annual Congressional Art Exhibition in Washington, D.C. Hodgdon's pastel piece, "Reader's Quiet Reflection," will be recognized during a reception at the Capitol, among artwork from students across the country.

Hodgdon will travel to Washington, D.C., for the opening reception of the exhibition and an awards ceremony in June. The artists featured in the exhibition will tour the Capitol, and their work will be hung in the Cannon Tunnel for the next year. Hodgdon's work will represent the 11th Congressional District of Pennsylvania among over 400 pieces from districts across the country.

"Reader's Quiet Reflection" took Hodgdon four months to complete and depicts her with the book "Emma" by Jane Austen. Hodgdon said her teacher Candace Rakers encouraged her to portray something she loved in the painting. Hodgdon is an avid reader and received the book as a gift from a friend. "(This painting is) definitely my best work," Hodgdon said. "It was my first color piece in Mrs. Rakers' class, and I was really excited for it."

Hodgdon has always been interested in art and began taking drawing classes as a freshman at Solanco High School. She was asked by Rakers to join her portfolio class, which she has taken each year since. In the first year of the class, students work on basic skills like illustrating simple shapes, and they learn about color scales. In the second year, Rakers has her students create still-life paintings and self-portraits. In Hodgdon's third year of the portfolio class, she began to work on more complex pieces and entered her work into various competitions. "There's so much great work in the Congressional Art Exhibition," Hodgdon said. "It's an honor to be included in it."

Hodgdon plans to attend Elizabethtown College to study biology in the fall, although she will continue to work on painting as a hobby. "I really love art, but I wouldn't want to do it for a living," Hodgdon said. "I do it because I love it."