With the many striving artists at Westhill, Ewa Misiak, Sarah Shattuck, and Emma Cali take a considerable lead being awarded and recognized for the 2016 Connecticut Regional Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. These awards are extremely impressive, honoring the art students in various schools from Connecticut. “…to give those high school students who demonstrate superior talent and achievement in things of the spirit and of the mind at least a fraction of the honors and rewards accorded to their athletic classmates for demonstrating their bodily skills.” according to founder Maurice R. Robinson.
The Scholastic awards are a nonprofit organization whose goal is to recognize exceptional artistic talent and creativity. This year, students submitted nearly 320,000 original pieces through 29 different categories of art and writing across America. Since it’s founding in 1923, successful Alumni of this foundation include: Andy Warhol, Phillip Pearlstein, Sylvia Plath, Truman Capote, Zac Posen, Ken Burns, etc. just to name a few. Some of these highly noted leaders in the visual and literary arts are used as jurors to lend their expertise.
Many generous corporations and foundations like the National Student Poets Program help to give the scholarship money. Awarding pieces are displayed at various museums across the country depending on whether the competition is regional or national. Sarah Shattuck, a Westhill Senior has been strongly making art for many years. This was her first year in entering the Scholastic Awards, although she has submitted art to other contests before. She won a Silver Key award in the Digital Art category. Shattuck digitally painted a self-portrait, which was an assignment in her computer graphics class at Westhill.
“ I am proud that I was chosen to receive this award out of so many other students, and glad that my work is being recognized.” Shattuck says. The Scholastic Art and Writing Awards has grown to be the nations longest running, most distinguished recognition for creative teens, and the largest source of awarding scholarships for young artists and writers.
