On Feb. 11, senior Indigo Hansen and sophomores Hannah King, Laurel Welch and Zoya Zalevskiy were recognized by Scholastic for their artistic abilities in painting and photography.
Hansen won a Silver Key award for her painting, “Complementary Cat.” King won a Silver Key for her photograph, “Locked Up,” and two honorable mentions for photography. Zalevskiy won a Silver Key for her photograph, “A Walk in The Woods,” and four honorable mentions for photography. Welch won a Silver Key for her photograph, “Focus on the Chain.”
“What draws me to art is the unlimited creativity to it,” Hansen said. “You could paint something as simple and classic as a self portrait using oil pastels, or you could do something crazy and out of the box like using sliced cucumbers to make a statue, and it would still be considered art. Art isn’t just one thing, it’s every artistic thought that has ever been transferred from the brain to the medium.”
The appeal to art lies in the creative ability to break down conventional barriers and decide for yourself what has meaning. According to these students, art is a medium in which they can use their unique abilities to share perspectives they find interesting or meaningful.
“My inspiration for my photo was an old windmill,” Welch said. “I found that when you lie underneath it, you get a new perspective. I noticed the the rust on the chain and saw it as a perfect opportunity for a photograph. It was cool to win this award because I took (the photo) on my grandfather’s ranch in Nebraska. I’ve always appreciated the beauty of the Sandhills and I’m glad that because of my photograph, some people might be able to appreciate it too, even if they never have the chance to visit.”
Art is pursued by those who enjoy sharing things that they find interesting, according to Zalevskiy, and through the fulfillment of this desire to share, an artist can find great satisfaction.
“Photography is really special to me, and winning this award was really cool,” Zalevskiy said. “It was nice to get recognized for something I love to do.”
By: Aidan Shelton, Feature Writer
