Terry Marchbanks has found a creative way to incorporate art in her classroom while raising money for supplies.

Her second-grade students create art, using various mediums, based on topics taught in the classroom.

"People learn in a number of ways, but when you are creating or re-creating something you are forced to pay more attention to the details," Marchbanks said.

After the projects are complete, Marchbanks scans them into the computer and posts them online at www.artsonia.com, where parents can purchase items such as coffee mugs, tote bags or key chains featuring their child's art.

Of the money spent on that site, 15 percent of it goes right back into Marchbanks' classroom, allowing her to re-stock art supplies at Hamilton Creek School.

Last week her students studied water fowl.

The duck project tied into the class's science unit on animal groups.

"Trying to paint a realistic duck is a 'different' kind of art task than kids usually do," Marchbanks said. "It doesn't involve creativity as much as it involves observation."

She said the kids learned the different colorings for the males and females, and that a wood duck sitting on a tree branch is an appropriate setting for that duck.

"But a dabbling duck like a mallard needs to be near a shallow pond," Marchbanks continued.

All the ducks and geese were found in Oregon.

The second graders studied mallards, wood ducks, red-headed ducks, goldeneye ducks and Canadian geese.

After the project, classes from kindergarten through seventh grade were asked to judge the paintings in different categories, including accurate body coloring, best details added to the picture, most neatly done and judge's personal favorite.

"All the wood duck pictures went to one grade for judging, so people couldn't play favorites," Marchbanks said.

No prizes were given other than stickers.

Matthew Ewing, 8, said he won first place for his mallard hen.

"I got accurate body shape," he said.

He said his family lives in the countryside and birds frequently fly over his house to access a pond on the hill.

Marchbanks said this was the first competition of this sort she has organized with student artwork.

"The last couple of years I have had my students enter the Junior Duck Stamp Contest organized by the Department of Fish and Wildlife," she said.

But she never received feedback on how her students could improve their work, and students in art schools usually won.

"I decided it would be a better experience for my students to have our own contest," Marchbanks said. "Rather than having adults judge the contest, I had other students in the school do the judging."

Maryann Ewing, Parent Teacher Association member and Matthew's mother, said it's a wonderful project.

She said she enjoys being able to buy items displaying Matthew's art online.

"Half the family is back east, and the other half is in California. It's beautiful to be able to send out his art to other family members," she said.

The art is displayed outside the main office at Hamilton Creek.

Marchbanks has taught second grade for 24 years, all at Hamilton Creek.

"It's a year kids really take off in reading, love science and are enthusiastic about school," she said about her students. "They are willing to try new things and not judge themselves. It's fun to be a part of their adventure and their art."

To see student artwork on the website, go to www.artsonia.com and enter Lebanon's ZIP code, 97355, and click on Hamilton Creek.

Pioneer School and Punkin Seed Preschool also post art from students on the site.

Art may be viewed in the virtual museum by artist or by group.