By Henriikka Niemi
Staff Writer
Nine Coppell High School students earned recognition for their work at the Visual Arts Scholastic Event state competition, which occurred on April 4-5 at Bryan High School.
Eight of these students won state medals while senior Ben Han was awarded a gold seal, the highest recognition given to only 100 pieces out of the thousands entered.
Han’s piece “Symphonic” is classified as printmaking.
“You etch a design onto some glass and put ink on it, then transfer it onto paper,” Han said. “[Symphonic] is of my friends playing the bass in the orchestra, because I used to be in the orchestra, and I’m sad that I’m not anymore.”
Han was accepted into the Savannah College of Art and Design, located in Georgia, and is considering attending in the fall to pursue photography.
The VASE process begins with students finding an art teacher as a sponsor regardless of whether they are currently enrolled in an art class. Most students complete rough drafts of a few compositions and submit it to their teachers, who advise them on which ones have the most potential. From there, they can then enter two pieces into the competition in virtually any category including animation, film, printmaking, painting, ceramics, drawing, photography and mixed media.
On March 1, CHS hosted the VASE regional competition for Region 10 South, one of the two regions in North Texas. Students who qualified out of the roughly 2,000 who entered, 13 of whom were from Coppell, advanced to state.
“The students have to complete a written document that asks them quite a few questions about why they created the work, how they created it, what the intent and purpose is and what their personal expression is within the work,” art teacher Tamera Westervelt said. “Also, they have to go through an interview process one on one with a juror. The interview counts as 40 percent of their overall score and the artwork counts as 60 percent.”
Junior Suraya Javeri chose not to enroll in an art class this year, but utilized the principles of art she learned in previous years in Elsa Reynold’s class in her drawing “Sublime Dreams.”
“We were studying the sublime in English and according to Kantian theory, for something to be sublime it has to be attracted and repelled at the same time,” Javeri said. “I thought of nightmares, how you want to wake up but can’t, and how dreamcatchers are supposed to catch the nightmares. You’re supposed to act like you’re a bad dream when looking at the piece and that you’re getting caught up in the web.”
In the future, Javeri plans to incorporate her passion for art into a potential career in advertising.
“The medal is validation for me that this piece is worth something to other people as well,” Javeri said. “Even without it, I find my own validation in my art.”
The eight students that earned a state medal are Suraya Javeri, Min Lee, Sree Lingam, Caroline Adams, Melanie Talmadge, Avery Pietrowiak, Madeline Haung and Cali Westervelt. The pieces entered into the VASE state competition are currently displayed in the case beside the horseshoe.
