Scholastic Art Competition Awards
Madison Wilson, Loving Kitchen, Digital Art - Gold Key
The process of making food in a kitchen is very sentimental to me when I think about it being produced in my house. For all my 18 years of living, there has always been a specific pattern that always happens. My mom would be in the kitchen cooking up something delicious, and me and my sister would be sitting at the table in the same spots we had for years. I wanted to illustrate this process the best I could.
Eliza Pikulinski, Lingering Refractions, Digital Art- Gold Key
A 3D rendering of a grocery store aisle filled with multicolored products in a nonsense language, and with some footprints/handprints scattered around the aisle. All the textures (materials) of the 3D models (objects) are hand-painted paintings that I have taken photos of. The product labels, handprints, and store tiles are all acrylic paintings that have been scanned digitally.
3D modeling, lighting, texturing, rendering, and compositing, as well as all the paintings, were all done by me from scratch.
Leah White, Geokaun Mountain, Painting - Gold Key
This piece is inspired by a real photo taken of me when I was younger with my sister and father sitting on a cliff of Geokaun Mountain, Co. Kerry, Ireland where my parents grew up and my family originated.
Alexa Maldonado, We Are All Being Consumed by the Rabbit Hole of Technology, Mixed Media - Gold Key
My artwork is quite literally an abstract version of what you can see anywhere in the United States today: people walking around, eyes glued to the electronic device in their hands. The majority of generations find that they can’t go anywhere or do anything without their phone, iPad, or computer. Technology is distracting and addicting as it is reliable and efficient. The metaphoric phrase, “rabbit hole”, is a perfect representation of the global distraction which, whether or not we realize it, is causing us to spend more and more time looking at a screen.
Shannon Nieto, Shallow Sensation, Painting - Silver Key
This piece is a gouache painting inspired by the vast and complex aspect of water. The process of this painting involved painting each scale of the fish one by one along with the efforts of keeping the water portrayed in the background to appear like water. A sinking and almost drowning feeling that stems directly from emotions one cannot truly feel, but are constantly surrounded by. The two koi fish resemble a cyclic impression of emotions, common ones that swim around and around in a motion of expression. The skeleton drifting in the water resembles the emotions and thoughts that tend to lurk lower than the surface. Feelings that are almost unexplainable, yet still continue to stay around and never truly go away.
Grace DeIeso, Until I’m All Used Up, Digital Art - Silver Key
This piece is a representation of what it feels like to be used by somebody who hates you. I thought to use anchovies as a metaphor for this because of a common trope in the media where people hate anchovies, however many don’t realize how many uses they have and the countless popular dishes they’re in. Anchovies are hated, but still used and I thought that this is a really deep thing that I find people can relate to. I wanted to make this piece as an almost “I see you” to people who may be struggling with a similar situation to this as I have.
Angelina Concepcion, The Library, Drawing + Illustration- Honorable Mention
I illustrated a place I find peaceful and calming: my school library
Geneine Vieira, What I Can See, Painting - Honorable Mention
The experience of facial dysphoria that many Black women experience in their lifetime.
Maya Wierciszewski, Undead Girlz Comic, Comic Art - Honorable Mention
A comical zombie and nurse duo work together to save the world as a horrible zombie apocalypse hits!!
The main character Chloe brags about how she has a perfect school life. She has all the latest fashion, she’s popular, and most importantly, she can bully any nerd and not get in trouble! Hopefully it’ll last.
Ellice Tsuo, A Plastic Feast, Mixed Media - Honorable Mention
Essentially my work focuses on the environmental issues of plastic pollution. My art is showing how turtles think they're eating jellyfish, but they're actually consuming plastic. There are 327 billion bags found in the ocean each year and many sea creatures die because of it. To emphasize the concept, I made the piece entirely out of recycled materials.
Hanna Vojar, My Loves of Life, Mixed Media - Honorable Mention
This piece represents all of the physical things that I love in life, each shown in an object making up the left figure. The headphones represent my love of music, the screws represent my love of engineering, the plants represent my love of nature, the book pages represent my love of reading, and the thread represents my love of life itself, by which all of my other loves are intertwined.
Vanesa Rodriguez, Un Cerdo, Digital Art - Honorable Mention
I wanted to show the world what I always saw in the mirror every time I picked up my makeup brush. As someone who struggled to love their appearance, I used to think that I needed to be pretty for someone to like me. I would constantly compare myself to girls in my class and criticize myself in the mirror, calling myself "ugly" or "looking like a pig". However, over time, I learned to accept and love myself just the way I am.
Catherine O’Neill, The Juxtaposition Tragedy, Drawing + Illustration - Honorable Mention
I drew a memorial piece, using oil pastels to depict the initial attack of 9/11. In the piece, the Statue of Liberty has retired to her podium and is crying at the active terrorism. I captured her in the image to show the shock of the nation and represent the loss of innocence, peace, and freedom that resulted due to immense violence among nations. She is a reminder of the events we, as a nation and people, have overcome and continue to overcome due to adversity today. Although one of the Twin Towers has fallen, the other continues to stand as a symbol of remembrance, resilience, and unity. On September 11, 2001, thousands of individuals performed what is known as the largest sea evacuation recorded in history as over 150 boats went to the pier to evacuate 500,000 survivors from Manhattan. The Coast Guard asked for as much help as they could get and were flooded with the arrival of personal watercraft, dining boats, tour boats, tugboats, ferries, party boats, and fishing boats. The illuminated oceanic path in a lighter blue, unlike the depicted gray, was implemented to represent the 800+ Marine time heroes who reacted and participated in the evacuation of Manhattan on the day.
Antonia Opre, Snip, Comic Art - Honorable Mention
A one page comic with a deeper meaning. Includes metaphors such as the black goop and the knife. Different people can relate to it based on their different situations and experiences. Drawn digitally in a cartoony art style. Showing a girl with mysterious black goop on her hair. It was holding her back, so her only solution was to cut it off. There, she went with her life, leaving the black goop behind.