Seniors Tove Hanson and Gisela Ayala Echevarria have won Gold Key awards in the Regional Scholastic Art competition. The students’ work was judged against students from other western states, and next they will be considered for national awards in New York later this spring.
The Gold Key winners, along with other Hood River Valley High School artists, will be recognized in Friday’s arts assembly at the high school. Students also received Silver Keys and Honorable Mentions in Scholastic judging, part of an international competition done by regions.
Friday’s assembly will recognize the Scholastic honorees as well as students who have contributed works to other juried shows, including the recent The Dalles Art Show and the Oregon School of Arts and Crafts show.
“I think it’s good for kids to enter arts competitions,” said HRVHS art teacher Amirra Malak, herself a Gold Key winner in high school.
A few years ago when Malak transferred from Cascade Locks she started an Advanced Placement art class, and made it a course requirement to enter at least one piece in the Scholastic Art competition.
“For some, it may be their first competition and they don’t know how good they are, and it can come as a surprise to some kids,” she said. She noted that neither Gold Key winners had any previous plans to major in art.
The regional honors are the first step toward a possible scholarship and visit to the awards ceremony at Carnegie Hall in New York.
Gold Keys in Digital Media went to Gisela Ayala Echeverria for “Abstract Body” and Tove Hansen for “World Traveler.” A Portfolio Silver Key honor went to Eduardo Garcia for his portfolio “Old School”; this award is for seniors submitting a portfolio of work with written commentary.
Other Scholastic Art winners from HRVHS:
Silver Keys, Photo/Digital Media — Jaileen Castillo Granados, Keenan Collins, Yureli Cuevas, Brandi Fletcher, Jennifer Furrow, Amy Griffin
Silver Key, Ceramics — Megumi Hosaka
Honorable Mentions, Photo/Digital Media —Yureli Cuevas, Connor Dunn, Marilyn Barrera, Jessica Hardy, Sarah Iobst, Maria Izazaga, Lydia McElderry, Chelsea Smith
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