The anticipation. The wait. Multiple students, who have practiced piecing together a masterpiece, strain their ears to hear the results. Judges critique their work, in order for later admirers to look at their masterpiece in awe. But for the art students, the wait is finally over.

“I was very surprised, and happy! I’m usually clueless to results anyway, it was also very validating to what I like to do. To tell the truth, I didn’t expect much. This piece actually wasn’t one I very confident in and I didn’t expect to receive any award at all,” junior Allison Lund said.

Lund, along with 53 other students, turned in their creations to the Scholastic Art and Writing Competitions, for various judges to analyze and inspect. Out of those students, 33 received a variety of awards, from Honorable Mention, to Silver Key, to the highest award, the Gold Key, which is what Lund was given for her Landscape painting.

“When we got this in the mail, we got a variety of the medium and subject matter that the students did. We are proud of our students, that’s for sure, in their ability and their dedication that showed up this year,” Art Department Head Jeanne Kelley said.

Back in the beginning of January, the students had to send their works digitally to the Teacher Administration Center (TAC) office in Omaha before Jan. 6, in order for their art to make it into the competition. It wasn’t until early Feb. that MN received the results.
Before sending in potential pieces, teachers in the art department picked students whose art they believed would do well in the competition.

“That was a huge honor because he [Mr. Brisbois] only picked two sophomores. I’m only in drawing, and there’s a lot of sophomores in that class. He had an idea ahead of time of what he wanted me to send in, and then I picked some to enter in as well,” sophomore Marissa Salber said, who was awarded an Honorable Mention for her work “Throne of Patriotism”.

As both students and teachers waited for the submitted works to be judged, they all hoped that the artwork they had sent in met the judges’ expectations.

“The most difficult part about art competitions is not knowing what the judges are looking for. All the judges have a different taste in art. What one considers fine art, another may have a different opinion regarding its score,” senior Madison Hanley said, who was awarded the gold key for her painting, Camp Kooch-i-ching.

Now that they have the awards, the students’ art will be displayed in the TAC building, at 3215 Cuming St. through Apr. 1, along with a slideshow of all the winning artwork.
The art department couldn’t be prouder of the students and the abilities they’ve shown and developed throughout their high school careers.

“That’s our honey, seeing these students do really well. This whole build-up at MN is leading them to a career that they want, so that’s the thing that makes it worthwhile,” Kelley said.

The wait is over. The breath that has been held onto can finally be released. Students look at their art in pride, knowing that their teachers and critiquing judges accepted it. Ongoing bystanders will see what they’ve created, and will be moved.