The Westmorland Gazette and Abbot Hall third annual Young Art Critics Online competition winner is Holly Rushton from Windermere St Anne's School with her review of Nicola Hicks's exhibition Sculpture, Drawing and Light.

The prize for the winning review includes publishing the article on www.thisisthelakedistrict.co.uk - Artists in Residence section, www.abbothall.co.uk, in The Westmorland Gazette and work experience at both the art gallery and the newspaper.

Plans are under way for Young Art Critics Online 2006.

Here is the winning review by Holly Rushton, of Windermere St Anne's School: "Yes, I keep skulls in the studio," admits sculptress, Nicola Hicks (in her catalogue interview).

Frankly, skulls are amongst the more mundane objects one would expect to find there. Surely woodland nymphs, giggling cherubs and cat-headed children must roam at will in the haven of surreal creativity?

Hicks has taken armfuls of sand, plaster and straw, combined with bucket-loads of imagination and shaped this magical mixture into a series of sculptures that celebrate the blurred union between man, beast and Mother Nature. The life-sized piece, The Man who Loved Cats and the Woman who Loved Dogs', that greets you in the foyer, is the visitor's first taste of Hicks' striking technique where seemingly randomly-placed clumps of straw and thick plaster metamorphose into an ordered, solid form that perfectly merges man and woman with cat and dog.

Dressed for the Wood' seems to have risen from the earth itself, and evokes a profound sense of childhood innocence as well as a distinct flavour of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream'. Literary fiction also appears to have inspired the sculpture, Dan's Story', which has echoes of the children's book The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe' where the lion, Aslan', is human in all but form. However, in the intriguing piece, Murder of Crows', the animal/human relationship is reversed; the little circle of girls in their pretty crinolines possess cat-like heads and the demeanour of naughty kittens! Hicks has also been greatly influenced by the iconic imagery of Christianity, as can be seen from the creation of Chowl' a naked man suspended from nothingness in an unapologetic reference to Christ's crucifixion.

But, Flora', with her enigmatic smile, is my favourite piece; her fragile, sandy beauty seems as transient as life itself.

Experience Nicola Hicks' Sculpture, Drawing and Light' at the Abbot Hall, Kendal until 9th March, 2005.

l There is an opportunity to chat to Nicola Hicks during a Meet the Artist session next Thursday (Feb 24), between 10.30am-4pm and free with gallery admission. For further details, contact Abbot Hall on 01539-722464.