Art featured in NOVA exhibition

Teen artists recently submitted their best creations to the Scholastic Art & Writing competition designed for artists, photographers and writers.
Several different types of prizes can be awarded to those who submit, beginning with recognition in either a regional or a national award. Each of these types of recognition consists of a gold, silver and honorable mention category.
According to the Scholastic website, artandwriting.org, “approximately seven to ten percent of all regional submissions are recognized with Gold Key Awards and all are considered for national-level recognition.”
Two artists at Marshall won the Gold Key award, including junior Bridget Manown.
“The Gold Keys were given to the very best pieces that showed technical skill … creativity and meaning,” Manown said.
In her opinion, Manown’s winning piece, a painting of a QR code, differed from many of the Gold Key winners.
“I was surprised that [my] painting won the Gold [Key] because it really isn’t the usual Scholastic-winner type, but I think the fact that it was interactive and very relevant to current technological themes made it a stand-out,” Manown said. A QR code is a two-dimensional bar code that can be scanned by smartphones.
Falling after the Gold Key regional award are the Silver Key and the honorable mention. Three of the student artists at Marshall won these award.
“I submitted one [piece]. I took the photo with my Nikon and did small adjustments on Photoshop,” junior Jamie Olesker, who won an honorable mention, said.
The art teachers also get involved in the competition by aiding students in the submission process.
According to art teacher Nicole Walter, the teachers “work closely with the students to select their strongest work to submit, based on the qualities that Scholastic is looking for, [including] creativity, technical skill and personal vision.”
“Ms. Walter … was the one who helped me figure out which picture combination would be best and [helped me] choose a name [for the piece],” Olesker said.
The teachers help students to organize their creations, but still give the students the freedom to submit what they want.
“In some cases, I suggest ways for them to make their work stronger; maybe just cropping an image or increasing the contrast in a painting,” Walter said.
The artists agree that the work mostly rests on the teens’ shoulders.
“In IB Art, the work is all very independent, but of course, the awesome art department supplies us with art materials,” Manown said.
The teachers strongly recommend, and in some cases require, that their students submit to the competition.
Art teacher Olga Moissakis required her more advanced classes to submit to the competition this year.
“It is a good experience for students to go through the process regardless of the outcome,” Moissakis said.
Aside from outside influences, the teen artists still find passion and drive in their work.
“[Art] is fun and I am able to express myself…my emotions [and] my experiences onto paper or whatever I’m working on,” Olesker said.