Two young sisters in Connemara have taken the top spots in a national art competition with their individual depictions of dream cars.

Maja Matusik, 6, took first place in her age category (7 years old or under) while her older sibling Jagoda, 9, got second place in the 8-11 age group in the 18th Toyota Ireland Dream Car Art contest.

Their success has won them a trip to represent Ireland in the worldwide competition in Japan.

The girls weren’t inspired by the profession of their mechanic dad when it came to creating their masterpieces.

Jagoda was looking at futuristic cars on the internet when she got idea to do ‘My Flying Neon Car’ on a background of a real tyre mark, while Maja drew her ‘Invisible Car’ because it struck her that she had never seen a picture of an invisible car, explained her mum, Renata Dudzik.

Both girls love spending time usefully and prefer to do different kinds of art than watch TV.

“We are quite a busy family. We love travelling, we go to the galleries and museums where the girls draw inspiration. Quite often the girls do various kinds of art at home,” she revealed.

Jagoda is no stranger to awards having won other competitions in the past. She says she would like to be an artist when she grows up – well either painting or dancing, or both at the same time.

“Jagoda is always watching art, talking about art, talking what and how to do it. She’s always trying to do something that’s never been seen before.”

A keen sean nós dancer, she also trains with the 4M Dance Centre and her group have qualified to represent Ireland in the European Hip Hop Dance Championships in Portugal next year.

As if that didn’t keep her full attention, she does gymnastics and camogie and is a talented musician, playing the accordion, violin and whistle,

The younger Maja is constantly asking to have horses and dogs at home so that she can paint them. She shares many of the same activities with her big sister.

“She is very meticulous in her work,” says her proud mum.

Polish native Renata met her Polish partner Bartosz Matusik in Ireland nearly two decades ago. Bartosz was living and working as a mechanic in Inverin and the couple settled in the heart of the Gaeltacht.

Bartosz is running his own car repair workshop in Inverin for the last 11 years while Renata, who previously worked in hospitality, is a stay-at-home parent.

She noticed that Jagoda was passionate about art from an early age.

“She couldn’t sit quietly at the table and, for example, eat dinner. She always had something in her hands and was constantly creating new things. Even at school, she had to do something while listening to her teacher,” Renata reflects.

“When we go for a walk, both daughters look around and look for new objects that they can use to make art. The younger daughter follows in her sister’s footsteps. Maja was very interested in art from an early age and continues to be. Maja also loves working with clay. They love doing different projects as they say it is very relaxing for them and they like to share their work with each other. Sometimes I’m guiding them and helping them to get new ideas.”

The pair will now represent Ireland in the worldwide competition held in Toyota’s headquarters in Japan where they could win $5,000 and $10,000 for their school to spend on educational resources.

Pictured: Sisters Maja and Jogoda Matusik from Inverin who were chosen as prize winners in the 18th Toyota Dream Car contest. 6 years old Maja won first place in the under 7s category for her ‘Invisible Car’ art and 9 years old Jagoda won second place in 8-11 years category for her ‘My Flying Neon Car’ art. Maja and Jagoda are both pupils attending Scoil Sailearna, Inverin. Photo: Joe O’Shaughnessy.