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Westland student ranks high in art exhibition
(by Tara Figurski, staff writer - January 30, 2012)
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| Kristen Mazzara’s piece, “There’s G’s On My Purse Because I Am One” won a gold key award and was selected for the national competition in New York later this year. |
Westland High School student Kristen Mazzara won a gold key in the 2012 Central Ohio Regional Scholastic Art Awards exhibition.
The top work of local artists in grades 7-12 were featured at the Columbus College of Art and Design (CCAD) through Feb. 4.
Robin Hepler, director of marketing and communication at CCAD, said the students who participated were from Ashland, Delaware, Fairfield, Franklin, Hocking, Licking, Madison, Morrow, Pickaway and Richland counties.
“Typically what happens is the art teachers of the schools help kids decide who should be entering or help them decide which pieces would be best to enter as well,” Hepler said.
CCAD served as a regional site for the national competition. A majority of students participated in the competition to discover how their art compares to their peers, Hepler said. Other students who participate are considering studying art in college, she said.
“There are significant scholarship dollars available,” Hepler said. “Out of this region there were 18 individual pieces and seven student portfolios that will move on to New York. This is quite an honor for them.”
From the 470 individual works submitted for judging, 151 were selected for the exhibition, including paintings, photographs, ceramics, graphic design projects, drawings, sculptures and multimedia works.
An additional 74 art and photography portfolios were submitted by high school seniors throughout central Ohio. Of those, 17 art portfolios and six photography portfolios were chosen for recognition.
Eighteen individual works of art and seven portfolios were selected to enter the national competition in New York this March. Works selected at the national judging will be on exhibit this summer in Washington, D.C. Students selected on the national level are eligible for scholarships at participating art and design colleges.
A number of students from Westland High School entered their works in the competition. Mazzara was recognized with a gold key for her piece, “There’s G’s On My Purse Because I Am One.”
A second piece, “Be Still My Heart,” won honorable mention.
Mazzara said she first developed an interest in art when she was in preschool.
“It is a way of expressing myself,” she said. “I like drawing with pencils and pastels. I want to go to CCAD. This is a way to get my art there.”
Mazzara said she was surprised to learn her work was selected for the gold key award. She said her art teacher assigned students a project of drawing an ordinary object so she drew a picture of her purse.
“(My purse) is something I live with every day of the year,” she said. “I take my purse everywhere.”
This is the first year students entered their artwork electronically, Hepler said. Four CCAD faculty members judged the artwork. The digital versions of the pieces will be judged in New York, she said.
New York winners will be invited to participate in a special award ceremony at Carnegie Hall.
“It will be awhile before we know who the winners are,” Hepler said.
This is the 25th year CCAD has hosted the Central Ohio Regional Scholastic Art Awards. The national Scholastic Art & Writing Awards dates back to 1923 and are the oldest and largest student recognition program in the U.S.
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