Rural Vista Art Students Strike Gold!

Win Awards at Scholastic Competition

by Beth DeMont

February 05, 2006

Rural Vista art students entered the 2006 Scholastic Regional Art Competition held in Wichita, Kansas this year. Students in the 7-12 grades are eligible to compete. Kansas has two divisions, east and west. Rural Vista USD # 481 students participate in the eastern division which consists of 70 counties. This year approximately 3,000 entries were submitted.

Award divisions consist of 5 American Vision Nominees, Gold Key Awards, Silver Key Awards, and Honorable Mention Awards. Some entries were also chosen for viewing in the exhibit, but were not selected for one of the awards.

Gold Key is the highest level of achievement. Gold Key recipients are forwarded to New York for national level adjudication. National winners will be exhibited in the Concoran Gallery in Washington D.C. later this year.

American Vision Nominees are chosen from all Gold Key Recipients. Only five are chosen as award winners in this category and are considered the Best of Show choices for the entire competition. These five works go to New York in a separate category. From these five the New York judges will choose one to represent Kansas at the National Level of competition. After final judging in New York, these winning entries will also be exhibited in the Concoran Gallery.

Lacie received the prestigious American Vision Award for her piece, "Literary Glass."

Lacey Persell's Gold Key winning entry, "Literary Glass" was one of five prestigious entries chosen to represent Kansas in the American Visions Nominee category in New York City. These five works are considered the five Best of Show entries in the entire competition. The four remaining winners are from Emporia High School, two from Wichita Southeast High School, and Maize High School. One will be chosen from these five to hang in the Concoran Art Gallery in Washington D.C.

Silver Key awards are distinguished awards but do not travel to New York for further competition.

Rural Vista students who were honored by winning Gold Keys were:

Student	Work	Medium
Ariel Landrum	"I Hate Golf"	Product Design Batik
Lacey Persell	"Literary Glass	Mixed Media
Kae Kohman	"Dancing Spirit"	Painting
Kae Kohman	"Swaying Murder"	Drawing
Shaston Challans	"Art Anguish"	Drawing

Honorable Mention Award:
Kate Hicks	"Crazy"	Drawing
Entries allowed into the show:
Elizabeth Dillon	" A Murder's Decision"	Mixed Media
Claire Lee	"Complete to Incomplete"	Sculpture
Brittany Coons	"All About Me"	Drawing

Twenty of USD #481's students traveled to Wichita on opening day to view their creations at the Wichita Center for the Arts. It is astonishing to see what high school students are achieving in the art rooms across eastern Kansas. I look forward to taking the students so that they have the opportunity to see what is happening in other art programs in our state. The Scholastics show is open until the end of February. The awards ceremony will be held at the gallery Feb. 11, at 2:00 p.m. Congratulations and Good Luck to these remarkable students.