TCCHS students featured in TCA Youth Arts Show

Thomas County Central High School art students created, painted, sculpted, and drew their way into the ranks of a local youth arts show.

Students were awarded honors and recognitions in the Thomasville Center for the Arts Youth Arts Show, Competition and Exhibition. TCCHS students earned 10 out of 22 awards (see box).

“Overall, the students' works from TCCHS are a fine representation of the variety of media, subjects and techniques that they explored in their visual arts classes,” TCCHS art teacher Jocelyn Rivard said.

The competition and exhibition is part of the Thomasville Center for the Arts Youth Arts Month celebration, centered on spotlighting young talent and arts education.

“I feel it is important to encourage young artists and to thank our local schools and art teachers for making art education a priority,” TCA Youth Education Director Mary Oglesby said. “Every year I am amazed at the talent represented in the show. The judges were very complimentary about the student art and had a hard time making their decisions on the awards and scholarship.”

All entries had to be new submissions and original artwork with all content created by the student. Each school (all high schools in Thomas County were invited to participate) was limited to 30 entries with no more than two submissions per student.

Scholarship competition applications could submit 5-8 pieces and had to be pursuing a college degree within the visual arts field and have an acceptance into such a program. They also had to answer questions about their career and education goals.

Judges were anonymous with visual arts backgrounds, and presentation of artwork was a key consideration in the judging process. Teachers were notified of finalists in advance and finalists had to be present at the award ceremony on March 1 to win.

The Thomasville Center for the Arts Visual Arts Scholarship is a juried portfolio competition. The $1,000 check will be awarded directly to the scholarship recipient’s college or university and can only be used for educational purposes.

Scholarship recipient Sophie Anderson plans to attend Valdosta State University to study advertising and graphic design.

“It really means a lot to have not just one of my artworks recognized but a whole portfolio,” she said. “This is an award I’ve been dreaming about getting ever since I started high school and it’s exciting to see that it was realized because of my hard work.”

Hakeem Stevens was honored with the Most Potential Award for students in 12^th grade. His entire portfolio received this recognition.

“To me, this award means I have a bright future and more room to grow as an artist,” Stevens said. “I can only honor such an award by giving my absolute best and more to live up to such faith.”

Junior Mikayla Jordan received an Award of Excellence for her piece, “Orange & Yellow Mask,” a papier-mâché mask of a dragon.

“I’ve always loved art, and so when I was particularly proud of this mask, I figured that I might as well enter in hopes of seeing that other people enjoyed the piece as much as I did,” she said.

Jordan appreciates the recognition and is proud to know a piece of her work is recognized as “excellent.”

Sophomore Kate Weaver’s watercolor, “Moose Wading,” also received an Award of Excellence.

“I feel like this is a great honor to be awarded this award,” she said.

Honorable Mention recipient Carly Clark entered “Dandy Rhino,” a clay sculpture that is half rhino/half man.

“The bottom half was a man in a suit,” she said. “The head was a fierce rhino.”

Clark, a senior, is “very proud” she was able to use her talents and be recognized for her work.

“In future projects, I am motivated to do better and produce higher quality art,” she said.

Senior Rebecca Spruiell won first place for her clay sculpture, “Retro Wolf.” It is the result of an assignment in which students were challenged to combine human with animal. Spruiell chose to make a wolf man.

“My feelings were shock and surprise,” she said of her win. “I knew that I would get recognized but not first place. Art is relaxation for me. I go to my happy place. Art would be important to me even if it were not judged.”

Senior Tayler Deas received an Honorable Mention for her piece, “Postmodern Mansion.” She said the project gave her the chance “to use historical architecture from various buildings and monuments across the world.” The piece is mixed media that features a variety of colors using watercolor pencils and watercolor paint.

“This award has boosted my confidence and has encouraged me to further expand my creativity,” she said.

Chandler Wilson won a Creativity Award for her piece "Red & Violet Mask with Horns.”

“The Creativity Award means a lot to me because it shows that other people care about my art as much as I do,” Wilson said. “People get to see my style of creativity and it shows with my mask. My mask has tall, twisting horns as well as a beak, both covered in many different ‘Zentangles’ and patterns.”

Darius James won an Honorable Mention for his watercolor, “Fruits & Vegetables for Sale.” He said this recognition encourages him to keep his talent for art going, to “dig deeper for better art.”

Honorable Mention recipient Camille Sowell was recognized for her batik piece, “Fox in Snow.”

“I’m thrilled that the hard work I put into my craft has been successful, earning me this honorable mention,” Sowell said. “Entering my work into competitions was never something I did frequently or hopefully until Mrs. Rivard saw my competitive potential. Now I know my art is capable of greatness and I’ll work even harder next time.”

The exhibition runs March 1-31. It is open to the public from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. It features more than 100 entries.

“I encourage everyone to visit the center this March during National Youth Arts Month and see the pieces' craftsmanship and creativity for themselves,” Rivard said.

TCCHS Thomasville Center for the Arts Youth Arts Show Winners

Thomasville Center for the Arts Visual Arts Scholarship: Sophie Anderson, whole portfolio, $1,000