By Chiara Cafiero, courtesy of Kent News
Several Kent School students were recognized in the 2009 State of Connecticut Scholastic Art Awards, a competition that is held annually and sponsored by the Connecticut Art Education Association. These awards are highly competitive and only the most talented students in the state are recognized. This year, students from 140 schools across Connecticut submitted their artwork, and 646 pieces were selected.
From Kent, Nic Brickley ’09 was awarded gold in both Computer Art and Mixed Media while Amanda Darza ’10 took the silver in Drawing. Di (Christina) Jin ’09 and Ellie Place ’10 were both given honorable mention in Mixed Media and Photography respectively. The winning pieces were displayed at the Hartford Art School.
Art teachers Ms. Lynch, Ms. Brody, and Mr. Scofield selected the best work of several Kent art students to submit to the competition. Darza ’10 drew her winning piece on an assignment from Ms. Lynch. “The theme was ‘natural calamities,' so I chose a tree being struck by lightning. I used charcoal and chalk, which were new to me but I really enjoyed using a new medium.” Jin ’09 started out painting, yet her style evolved through her involvement in AP Studio Art. As part of her AP concentration, she gradually moved away from painting and began to experiment more. Jin’s winning piece was a photograph of Hong Kong that she stitched a dragon onto. Jin has created several of these innovative combinations of photos with stitching, many of which are on display in the art rooms. Place ’10 says of her winning photo, “When I took that picture, I was supposed to be taking pictures of tapping for the Kent 
website and I was trying to figure out the camera. It’s funny how the best pictures aren’t planned or posed. I think it was chosen because it’s an honest picture, the only thing I did to it was change it into black and white.” When asked if this was her first award, she says, “I won an award for a painting in 8th grade, and that’s about it.” Ellie has been taking Mr. Scofield’s photo class since her sophomore year, and according to her, “It’s never gotten old or boring.”
The art teachers are very pleased with their students’ efforts and their well-deserved recognition. Congratulations to all of these exceptionally talented artists on their successes!
