MHS students win Scholastic Art awards

This year, Monroe High School (MHS) had its highest number of participants in the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards with 31 students submitting work, and the results are in.

A Gold Key was awarded to James Smith and Silver Keys were awarded to Maria Gaspar and Michaela Johnson at a ceremony on Feb. 11 at the Schack Art Center in Everett.

Art Teacher, Dominique Wilmore, is Smith's teacher.

"He is a sophomore here, so that's exciting,GÇ¥ Wilmore said in a press release. "He'll be here a couple more years to develop.GÇ¥

Smith's entry was ceramic. "It's kind of like a longhorn sheep with curly horns,GÇ¥ Wilmore said. "It's a pretty challenging thing to make. He had the ribbing on the horns and all that.GÇ¥

Gaspar did a stencil project with spray paint, based on a photograph of a family member. Gaspar separated the layers of shading with an X-acto knife. Each page had a different negative space, which she used as stencils to recreate the photo with bright layers of spray paint.

Johnson is enrolled in Advanced Placement (AP) Art, taught by MHS Teacher Garrett Mirsky. The class requires preparing a portfolio for judging. "Most of the works she submitted to Scholastic are works she'll submit in her AP portfolio,GÇ¥ Mirsky explained. "It's 10 pieces of work that show range and breadth and another 10 pieces that show a unifying theme.GÇ¥

MHS offers Art I through Art V. "Each class flows from one to the next with the projects we do and the concepts that build on each other,GÇ¥ Wilmore explained.

Tiana Cargill, Caleb Sebastian, Kandyce Prewett, Isabel Lorang and Michaela Johnson received honorable mentions for their submissions.

"My job is to make art exciting and have my students continue on in their enjoyment and appreciation of art,GÇ¥ Mirsky said.

The winning art will be featured in an exhibit, along with all the other regional winners at the Schack. The opening and awards ceremony will be on Feb. 11, with the main exhibit open to the public from Feb. 10 to 21.