By Reyes Angeles.
The Visual Arts Scholastic Competition took place in February with 46 students achieving a perfect score of four, freshman Hollie Nowlan advancing to state for her painting.
The competition is for any student that wishes to showcase their artistic capabilities with no requirement of needing to be in an art class.
“I think it was just really awesome that they could see that they were really nervous to talk to the judges,” art teacher Kelly Fuller said. “They did really well talking about their art. When it’s a piece that you really enjoyed creating, I think it makes it easier for them but I’m really proud of them.”
The competition is not only about the art piece but also on why the student made it, and if they know what they used in the piece.
“They not only look at the actual piece of their techniques and their skills, but they also look at the written portion,” Fuller said “Which is answering about their elements they use of art and principles such as line shape, value, pattern, emphasis, and all of those words they kind of look for.”
The competition is unique for students because the judges do not check for anything that is wrong with the painting, but instead to help the students see what they can do better.
“Oftentimes people’s different perspectives can help you see how to better your art and so from my perspective, my art was like its fullest potential,” Sophomore Rosealynn Liu said. “And my interviewer, my judge, she literally just flipped over my canvas and somehow in my brain that already made it look better than it was before so people can improve your art by giving their input.”
The students aren’t asked to make a certain type of art, instead they can make anything they want whether it be about family or friends.
“I was really happy. I had a little photo shoot with my friend in order to make the art piece for my reference photos,” Liu said. “And so, making it I just felt like it was kind of like, like a conclusion of all my ideas and it felt really nice and like satisfying to be able to see that come to life.”
The type of art was completely up to the student, so many completed drawings or paintings.
“I don’t draw men that often, so I want to challenge myself with something new because I usually just draw and paint my little sisters,” Nowlan said. “So, this was just me pushing my myself out of my comfort zone.”
The competition takes hours to go through every single student participating and at the end they give scores with few advancing to state.
“It was a lot of anticipation because it was a lot of work, getting all the supplies, the materials and doing it,” Nowlan said “It was very difficult. So during it, I was a little stressed out because I was scared that all of this work wasn’t going to pay off. But it did. So, I’m very happy about that”
If the student had more than one art piece, they would be allowed to use both but they would be scored and interviewed separately.
“I’d say that I definitely like to learn about how most art interviews go and the types of questions that judges normally ask about art,” senior Ryann Liu said. “And I got to experience what an in-person art competition was like.”
National winners are given scholarships chances up to $12,500 with prestigious honor for most colleges.
“I think my favorite part was getting to talk about my art one on one with more professional artists,” Liu said. “I also liked talking with my other friends who were in art and like being nervous about the competition.”
