This year's "Best New Artist" named at the Calgary Stampede, Crystal Mossing-Mascoro, has local ties to the surrounding area. She won after entering a sculpture piece entitled "Pull Harder", which details Crystal's daughter Sierra trying her best to help her little brother Clay onto Crystal's old rodeo hose, Smokin' Cody Joe, with pet dog Cinth watching below.

Mossing-Mascoro was born and raised in Bengough, where she went to school until taking her Grade 9 and 10 in Fillmore and then her Grade 11 and 12 at the Weyburn Comprehensive School, graduating from there.

There are four generations of her family farming in Fillmore, where her mother grew up, and her Aunt Roxy and cousins Linda and Les Johnston still live in Fillmore. As well, her father Bruce Mossing and step-mother Elda and brother still farm in Bengough. Crystal is also related to Hugh and Carol McMillian in Francis.

Her artistic talents can be traced back to her time as a child in the area. Crystal remembers using the natural clay around the Bengough area to create art pieces, and also taking art during her time as a student in Weyburn. "I remember doing a fired clay piece at the Comp."

She decided to leave her Saskatchewan home in 1989, heading out to Alberta to be eligible for All-Girl Rodeos in that province. Shortly after, in 1992, she started working in fired-clay pieces and later opened her own studio and art gallery, called Art on the Range in Caroline, Alta.

This was actually the first time that Mossing-Mascoro had a piece chosen to be entered into the auction at the Calgary Stampede, though she had applied to enter before. "It is a tough show to get into."

"I originally sculpted the piece with not entering anything in mind," said Mossing-Mascoro. "Then when I entered, I had not thought about winning anything. It is an international art show, so I was just hoping to get the publicity and be promoted as an artist."

Crystal "was just happy to be picked" when it came to getting into the show. As for winning itself, "they didn't tell me until I saw the ribbon on my piece. It was all I could do not to cry in public."

"This is such a big thing for me," said Mossing-Mascoro. "I have credentials as an artist now, and it was so exciting to have my picture taken with other well-known artists."

When it comes to sculpting itself, Crystal feels that an artist should "do it because they love to do it. You have to poke away at it, keep on at it and don't quit. It is your passion and your hobby, and luckily for me sculpting has become my career."