Students qualify for state art competition
Oasis Williams (left) and Syanne Johnson competed at the Region 11-North VASE competition in early March, where both qualified for state. They will compete in San Antonio on April 28-29.
Two students qualified for the state VASE (Visual Art Scholastic Event) competition set for April 28-29 in San Antonio.
Junior Syanne Johnson and freshman Oasis Williams qualified for state with their original pieces. They competed against thousands of other students in Region 11-North on Feb. 25. Their work had to be completely original — either from a photograph they had taken, from their imagination or from direct observation.
“When you go in to show your artwork, you have to have reference notes to explain your work. If your artwork is from the picture that you took, it has to be attached. They are very strict about originality — if there is any question about unoriginality, then it is disqualified,” art teacher Krissi Oden said.
In the competition, there are two types of art: 2D and 3D. Students can create paintings, drawings, sculpture, printmaking and more. During the competition, students are required to complete an interview with a judge who asks various questions such as: “What is the meaning behind the piece?” and “Are there any historical references,” among others. Students must receive a score of 4 for their interview and their artwork to advance.
“[The competition] was hectic,” Johnson, who created a mixed-medium painting for VASE, said. “There were a lot of people, a lot of schools. I actually didn’t know what VASE would be like. People told me I was going to do great, but I didn’t expect to go to state.”
Johnson also recently received an award of merit at the state Reflections contest.
Williams drew a picture of a person’s internal spirit holding a paper that shows what they look like on the outside. She said it represented the complexity of what people actually go through and who they really are.
“It was cool, everyone was really nice,” Williams said. “It was cool to see everyone’s artwork and how hard they worked on it.”
More information on VASE can be found here.
Your donation will support the student journalists of Braswell High School. Your contribution will allow us to purchase equipment and cover our annual website hosting costs.
Julie Lowe is a freshman at BHS. She is a news & features reporter for the site.
