Megan Hoy found inspiration in a rooster.

Hoy, a sophomore at Tahoma High, designed a poster that was selected as the 2011 Maple Valley Farmers Market promotional poster for the season.

On the 2010 poster there was a rooster on a fence, Hoy said, “so, I thought I’d do something different.”

“I saw on their website they had a Name a Cow contest,” she said. “I found a cow (on Google images) and made it my own. I ran a filter through it and kind of made it cartoony at the bottom. I wanted it to be simple so I didn’t add a lot to it.”

The poster was also the final project for the first semester of her digital graphic arts class taught by Kerstin Feist.

Before winter break Feist received an e-mail from fellow teacher Marie Page, who is also a member of the Farmers Market board, asking about students designing a poster.

Tahoma High students have been involved in this part of the market since it began in 2009.

It worked out perfectly, Feist said, as a final project for her students.

“We connected this to the classroom based assessment for the arts, which is a state requirement,” Feist said. “If we can make a connection, do something for the community and give students real life clients and real life experience, it’s a benefit for everybody.”

The finalists presented their posters to Victoria Laise Jonas, founder and manager of the market, which was another valuable experience Feist noted.

“They had to think about the client’s needs and not necessarily about what they like,” Feist said. “They had to learn a little bit about farmers markets, what they are, what’s the purpose and who do they service.”

It provided Feist an opportunity to talk to her students about sustainability and the advantages of farmers markets over buying products that are shipped in.

“They asked me, ‘What do we grow around here,’ and we talked about how much gas it takes to bring produce from Mexico versus locally,” Feist said. “Any chance we get to talk about the environment is good.”

Jonas said the market board has been pleased with the partnership with the Tahoma School District.

“We’re very thankful for Mrs. Feist’s enthusiastic approach to doing this as a final project for her students,” Jonas said. “It was amazing for the students on multiple levels. They had to create this then they presented it to me and they had to do a brief oral presentation on what motivated them in creating their poster. They were all just awesome in many unique ways.”

Then Jonas enlisted the help of Mary Jane Glaser, president of the Maple Valley Creative Arts Council, to help decide on the winner.

“What Mary Jane liked about this was the whimsical nature of the cow and that it brought in the theme of our very own maple leaves,” Jonas said. “It’s very exciting for me because we had Name the Cow — Mrs. Udder Butter — that was our mascot. It’s just evolving. We are now continuing with our mascot theme.”

Hoy’s poster was one of about 60 submitted for consideration.

“I think it’s really exciting,” she said. “This is a first for me. I’ve never gotten recognized in an art class or a class in general for something like this. It means a lot to me because it’s something in Maple Valley.”

The teen said her parents are thrilled, too.

“I told my mom and she’s very excited because she goes (to the market) almost every Saturday,” Hoy said. “It’s kind of like I’m famous. A lot of people get to see my work and that’s special.”