Scholastic Art and Writing Awards celebrates teen artistic expression
Of the four recognitions Senior Kelly Park won from the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards, two were Gold Keys. This piece, which won a Gold Key, is titled, “Who Am I?”
In 1923, students from across America submitted their carefully crafted works of art to an esteemed panel of judges and anxiously waited for the results. One hundred years later, young artists are still entering that very same competition and, among those teenagers, there are several students from the high school.
The Scholastic Art and Writing Awards is a national competition with more than 28 categories covering a range of creative topics for students in grades seven to 12. In the regional round, students can receive Gold Key, Silver Key and Honorable Mention awards. From there, some award winners compete for scholarships at a national level. The national awards will be announced on March 22. But the competition is more than just the prizes; over the last century, the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards has been a place that recognizes creative teens who express themselves through art.
Junior Yuval Levy has submitted her writing to the competition for three years, and this year two of her poems won an Honorable Mention.
“I wrote pieces about nature, I wrote pieces about friendships, I wrote pieces that are angry and passionate. I wrote pieces about places that I love,” Levy said. “They all have different themes, but sometimes I focus on the technique, the iambic pentameter of the piece, and sometimes I’m more focused on the visuals of the piece.”
Another award winner was senior Kelly Park, who received four distinctions, two of which were Gold Keys. Two of Kelly Park’s pieces were made from ceramic and glass, and the others were a drawing and sculpture.
“One of the pieces is called ‘Dream.’ It’s a still life of the objects that are really special to me, like my ballet shoes because I also do ballet,” Kelly Park said. “In the other one, I explored my Korean and Asian-American identity. I took inspiration from the lotus flower.”
Unlike other applicants, junior Albert Jiang has only been painting for five months, but he has been drawing since 5th grade. Jiang said that he expressed a part of himself in his painting of his brother’s stuffed animals titled “Two Bears,” which received an Honorable Mention.
“These two bears belong to my brother and then, for years now, they were sort of pets to us. They represented our brotherhood,” Jiang said. “I suppose it’s also in reflection to how we’re less close now that he is becoming an adolescent.”
Junior Gabriel Park said that he illustrated his hopes and dreams in his mixed media piece called “By God’s Design,” which won an Honorable Mention. Not only did he convey an aspect of himself in his art, he also said that he advises other young artists to do the same.
“If [your art] is personal, you usually already have all the pieces there. If you think about it, you dig into it, everything’s there,” Gabriel Park said. “Unlike trying to do something that you’re not familiar with. At the end of the day, you understand yourself better than anything else.”
Levy said that the contest allowed her to refine work that, otherwise, would not have been touched.
“I think that, a lot of the time, at least in my experience, I’ll write something and then I won’t clean it up. I’ll just have the draft in my Google Drive,” Levy said. “So to have the opportunity to polish it up and then to win a distinction for it is really great.”
Gabriel Park said that the competition has been a good milestone that will encourage him while going forward.
“The competition isn’t really my end goal. It’s always great if I win these things but, in the end, I’m trying to tell a story,” Gabriel Park said. “Through this, I hope that I’ll be able to gather the skills to tell that story as best I can.”
Kelly Park also said that she was glad she participated in the contest.
“I think it does motivate me and it’s nice to have something I’ve been working on so hard get evaluated and receive something for my work. It’s also just a fun experience,” Kelly Park said.
The submissions for the next Scholastic Art and Writings awards open in September. Levy said that she encourages everyone to apply.
“Whether you’re an experienced writer or artist, or whether you’re just trying it out, there’s definitely no harm in shooting your shot,” Levy said. “Even if it doesn’t work your way, at least at this point in time just know that it’s one person’s opinion or a few people’s opinions. It’s worth trying because, why not?”
