As paint strokes the canvas and pencils color the page, young artists use art to invoke emotion into their pieces, hoping to be chosen for art awards. Two young Coppell artists got the surprise they advanced to the state level for Youth Art Month.
In November, Coppell ISD art teachers submitted three art students to be judged within the district, where two students from elementary, middle and high school got picked to proceed to the state level.
Sophomore Lasya Pillamari and CHS9 student Sahana Sudhir were both recognized for their art work and continued to the state level. Through March, their pieces are on display in the Texas Art Education Association Youth Art Exhibition at the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum in Austin.
Pillamari’s artwork “Wax and Wain” is about losing your childhood on your birthday as you grow older.
“I had a bunch of ideas, but it was really hard to put them all on paper, so figuring out a good composition was the hardest,” Pillamari said. “I didn’t realize that there was an award like this and was really surprised because I worked really hard on this, so it felt really nice.”
Sudhir’s artwork “Temptations” is about the temptations of healthy and junk food people face.
“The art that got chosen was made out of watercolor, which is a medium I have not really had much experience with,” Sudhir said. “I actually wanted to show a contrast, not only in color, but also the material. I wanted to show how both the junk food and the apple itself are the temptations.”
Both artists share their experiences creating new types of art, using unique techniques or mediums to create their art and the difficulty coming with it.
“It definitely pushed us out of our comfort zones, and we really did explore lots of different kinds of mediums and different ways to interpret our art,” Sudhir said. “I think that I struggled trying to really show all the details of my artwork, and I had to spend a lot of time and effort to make each stroke make some sort of a difference in the artwork and not just disappear.”
Through their works, both artists were able to explore new techniques and made them more confident within themselves.
“It’s really hard for me to express myself through words, so getting through that with art mediums and using pictures, so I was really surprised because I worked really hard on this, so it felt really nice,” Pillamari said.
Students are not only recognized for their creativity and technique in their artwork, but also for their character and respectfulness in the classroom.
“Pillamari is someone who has a really bright personality and lights up the room when she’s in this space,” visual art teacher Michelle Hauske said. “It’s fun to watch when someone’s engaged and excited about what they’re doing, they make other people around them excited about what they’re doing too, and they lift each other up and Lasya does that a lot.”
CHS9 art teacher Elsa Reynolds highlights Sudhir’s ability to work through her difficulties and create new ideas.
“Sudhir was always challenging herself and not shy to try new things and she’s always taken risks and tried new things,” Reynolds said. “As I’ve seen her over the months, she’s become a little more comfortable and keeps pushing that boundary and trying new things.”
The district will recognize all CISD Youth Art Month students at the CISD District Youth Art Month reception at Coppell Middle School West on March 27 with an exhibition and award ceremony.
“If we didn’t have these opportunities to try to put those visuals out, I think that the public wouldn’t see it,” Reynolds said. “I think being able to put your art out there for competition makes you stronger and more confident in yourself in general.”
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