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CHS art students earn local, state and national awards
Photo
Neighbors | Abby Slanker.Canfield High School senior art students, from left, Tara Rogers, Candice Smith, Bonnie Anderson and Lauren Adams, proudly displayed their award-winning pieces March 24.
By ABBY SLANKER
A number of students in Canfield High School’s art program have been honored in local, state and national exhibitions and competitions.
This winter, high school art students from across the country competed in the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards.
Canfield High School senior Tara Rogers’ piece titled “The Handyman’s Canvas” was awarded a National Scholastics Gold Medal, and was one of 300,000 works which were submitted, nationwide, to the competition.
There were 17,000 works of art which qualified for national judging. Of these, only 2,250 were awarded National Medals. Rogers will be honored at an awards ceremony this June at New York City’s Carnegie Hall. Rogers plans on attending the University of Mount Union in the fall where she will major in Biology and Pre-med.
Rogers created “The Handyman’s Canvas” in honor of her late grandfather.
“I lost my grandfather about a year ago and this piece is a nice way to remember him. He always made me laugh. I took three photos and combined them and they came together to tell a story,” Rogers said.
Two Canfield High School seniors, Candice Smith and Bonnie Anderson, had their work selected to be included in the 2015 Ohio Governor’s Youth Art Exhibition.
Smith, who plans on furthering her education in graphic design at either Ohio University or Columbus College of Art and Design, had her piece, titled “White Umbrella,” selected as a Governor’s Award of Excellence winner.
Anderson, who will attend Columbus College of Art and Design in the fall, will have two of her works, titled “Plastic Meltdown” and “Blue Summer,” displayed in the show.
These pieces were among the 12,000 works which competed from across Ohio. The top 300 works were included in the show with only 25 of those earning a Governor’s Award of Excellence. An awards ceremony took place April 12 at The Columbus Athenaeum. The show will be open for viewing at the James A. Rhodes Office Tower until May 14.
Smith’s “White Umbrella” was a mixed media persona project.
“For a persona project, we are supposed to describe ourselves. I used a reference picture of a forest and used acrylic paint to create that. Then I used poster board to create my body and face. The umbrella symbolizes stepping away from myself and stepping out from underneath it into adulthood,” Smith said.
Because of Smith being selected as Governor’s Award of Excellence winner, she is eligible for a scholarship to Columbus College of Art and Design. Smith said she is thankful for her parents and CHS art teacher Kevin Hoopes.
“I am very thankful to my parents for putting up with me during the last three days I was working on my piece to finish it. I am also thankful for Mr. Hoopes. He is definitely the biggest influence in all my art classes. I wouldn’t be where I am today without him,” Smith said.
Anderson’s “Plastic Meltdown” is a watercolor for which she used colored pencils and acrylics on watercolor paper and “Blue Summer” is a digital painting.
“‘Plastic Meltdown’ is a self-portrait with two-dimensional elements. I wanted to work with the cartoonish and liquid elements. ‘Blue Summer’ is a digital painting inspired by David Hockney, a well-known artist. I was inspired by him and wanted to put his influence in my own art,” Anderson said.
Anderson has earned the Dean’s Scholarship to Columbus College of Art and Design and the Illustration Department scholarship.
“I am humbled and honored by both of my pieces being selected for the exhibit. It’s rare that one student has two pieces selected, especially with all the talented artists across Ohio,” Anderson said.
Anderson also echoed Smith’s sentiments about Hoopes.
“Mr. Hoopes is the best art teacher ever,” Anderson said.
Canfield High School senior Lauren Adams was chosen as Best of Show for her first place Illustration piece “Behind the Scenes” and second place in Sculpture with her “Dragon Swallows the World” piece in the Mahoning County Student Art Show.
“I used bleach and colored pencils for ‘Behind the Scenes’ and ‘Dragon Swallows the World’ is a puzzle piece sculpture,” Adams said.
The following Canfield High School art students will be receiving honors at the Mahoning County Student Art Show and Awards Ceremony May 6:
Kasey Hood - first place in Pencil Drawing and first in Pastel
Kailey Love - first place and Honorable Mention in Photography
Moira Lumsden - first place in Watercolor
Raquel Markulin - first place Ink Drawing and 1st place in Charcoal
Jennifer McClune - first place Mixed Media
Alexa Bodine - second place in Oils and 2nd in Pastels
Morgan Leonard - second place in Colored Pencil
Tara Rogers - second place in Pastels
Nicole Schmidt - second place in Ink Drawing
Bailey Brocker - third place in Pastel
Erin Risner - third place in Sculpture
Abrielle Sigler - third place in Pencil Drawing
Chayla Regano - District Award in Photography