The 2018 High School Art Show was held on Thursday, March 22 at Center Place in Brandon. The GFWC Brandon Service League provides the funding for the winners. Students from area high schools submit entries for 2D, 3D and photography. The high schools represented in this year’s show included East Bay, Durant, Bloomingdale, Plant City, Blake and Armwood.
The judge for this year’s show was Jennie Sikora-Muehl, a professional ceramics artist.
Sikora-Muehl shows her functional and sculptural work in galleries and stores throughout the country and locally at Florida Craft Art.
Sikora-Muehl said of the show, “This is one of the best high school art shows that I have ever judged. There were so many great pieces. It was difficult to pick the award winners.
The attention to details, the use of materials, and the sophistication of the subjects in this show rival that of some college students. I wish there were more awards to give.”
Lenny Cabanero-Harvey, a professional ceramics artist and teacher at Blake High School echoed the judge’s comments stating, “This was a great selection of pieces. The level of quality is higher than ever.”
The first-place winner in 2D art was Melany Jorge, a student from Durant High School, with her piece “Couch Potato.” In photography, the first-place winner was Aysia Parker-Thomas from Blake High School with “Unfair Life of a 2 Year Old.” The first-place winner in 3D was Emelyn Harvey from Blake High School with “Cold.”
The Judge’s Special Award was given to Amanda Cardwell from Durant High School for her piece called “Irma.” According to the Judge, “This was chosen because of the relationship between the two boys. The light, shadows and texture of each stroke with a pencil shows a very realistic photographic quality to this drawing.”
Center Place also presented the 2018 Patricia B. Odiorne Scholarship to Virginia Haggbloom from Newsome High School. This is a $1,000 scholarship given each year to a high school senior.
For more information on the 2018 High School Art Show, please visit www.centerplacebrandon.org.
