Student artists shine at Schack Art Center show in Everett

Clare Kaiyala credits her prize-winning artwork to a horror movie she saw in math class.

“The creature was a tree monster. It was kind of cool. I wanted to do something similar to it, but not copying it,” said Clare, a sophomore at Mountlake Terrace High School.

Her bronze piece, “The Forest,” gained one of the top honors in the regional Scholastic Art Awards at the Schack Art Center in Everett.

She is among five American Vision Nominee/Best of Show recipients for Snohomish County, out of more than 800 regional entries submitted. Founded in 1923, The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards gives thousands of students in the U.S. the opportunity to broaden their creative horizons while earning local and especially national recognition.

For Kira Walters’ winning piece, “On the Road” (pictured above), started as an art class assignment to make a collage.

The teacher offered up a selection of magazines. Kira, an Everett High School senior, was lured by the National Geographic issues.

“They were more interesting than the other magazines,” she said.

“It’s kind of a surrealist collage. I used National Geographics from the ’70s to make it, so there’s a lot of really funky photos in there,” she said. “From there, I let it turn pretty funky and weird. It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, but it’s kind of fun.”

Kira chose to submit the collage, and another that earned an honorable mention, instead of her paintings.

“It was the most interesting because it wasn’t just an object. It was a full scene,” she said. “It was more storylike than the paintings I’ve done.”

Other American Vision Nominee/Best of Show recipients are:

Maremi Meerova, Kamiak High School, “Resavada”

Brandy Rendon-Villagomez, Everett High School, “Picture Perfect”

Jaeden Tongco, Kamiak High School, “Self Portrait”

Jurors were Charles Cataldo, Tina Carpenter, Cindy Carper-Morris, Sue Dawson, Jennie de Mello e Souza, Amy Duncan, Justin Hillgrove, Juliette Ricci Lagman, Ron Lagman, Rich Langley, Kippi Leonard, Pat Maher, Anna Mastronardi Novak, Debbie McCoy, Kelly Sooter, Rick Wigre, Beverly Wilkinson and Molly Winton.

Other categories are Gold Key, Silver Key and honorable mention. These winners are listed on the Schack website, www.schack.org.

Winner of the annual Susan Jane Russell Art Scholarship is Nicole Anderson, a Jackson High School senior. The $1,500 award is given to an outstanding art student who plans to attend a community college, college, university or art school in the fall of 2018, majoring in the visual arts, arts education or an art-related focus.

Nicole will have her own display section in the Scholastic Art Portfolio Exhibit, Feb. 7 through March 4 at Schack Art Center.

If you go

The Scholastic Art Awards Ceremony is 6:30 p.m. Feb. 12 at the Historic Everett Theatre, 2911 Colby Ave., Everett.

The exhibit of all award-winning pieces is Feb. 12 through March 4 in the Mezzanine Gallery at the Schack Art Center, 2921 Hoyt Ave., Everett.

The Scholastic Art Portfolio Exhibit, by high school seniors, is Feb. 7 through March 4 in the Schack’s Emerging Young Artists’ Gallery.

Regular Schack gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday; and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday.