In an relative sweep, 24 MSMS students were recognized at the 2018 Mississippi Regional Competition in Jackson as part of the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, the nation’s longest-running and most prestigious recognition program for creative teens in grades 7-12. Among thousands of entries, the budding visual artists and writers placed on three levels with 10 art pieces and 41 written works in all.

Recognition is categorized into various awards: Gold Keys represent the best works submitted to local programs and are automatically submitted for national recognition, Silver Keys are stand-out works that demonstrate exceptional ability, and Honorable Mentions are accomplished works that show great skill and potential.

In the Scholastic Art division, senior Margarete Ellis received two Gold Keys; senior Mary Owings received two Gold Keys and a Silver Key; junior Helen Peng received a Gold Key, Silver Key and an Honorable Mention; and junior Lilian Le received an Honorable Mention.

The national stage is set to take place in February, where more than 2,700 works will earn national medals. National medalists and their instructors will be invited to a national ceremony to be held at Carnegie Hall in New York City in June.

Ellis, who is a first-time participant of the competition, earned two Gold Keys for her pieces titled “Gandalf” and “Victor the Octopus.”

Inspired by actor Ian McKellen’s portrayal of the old wizard protagonist, Ellis carved “Gandalf” in her Sculpture II to portray one of her favorite characters from The Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Hobbit.

Owings, who is also a first-time participant of the competition, received her Gold Key recognition on two pieces that portrayed her grandmother’s dog, Al Poochino.

Owings describes her black-and-white scratchboard piece “Suppertime” as a culmination of her experience with the medium while using pets as subjects throughout her high school career.

Her colored pencil piece takes the name of its subject, “Al Poochino.” The work was her first major project with the unfamiliar medium but one that she said she enjoyed nonetheless.

Owings’ Silver Key pen-and-ink piece titled “Playtime” depicts a squirrel scurrying around a tree and embodies the artist’s preference for portraying animals and outdoor scenes in her works. Owings commented by mentioning that despite not having had much experience with pen-and-ink prior to this piece, it has become one of her favorite mediums due to its inherent demand for great detail.

Peng, who has received multiple art awards in the past, including an “American Vision Nominee” title, submitted three pieces.

“I strive for my art to be thought-provoking or highlight the beauty and complexity of everyday life–often in objects, people or landscapes we tend to overlook. Art is a tool for conversation, and to me, that means connecting the world through the scope of art,” Peng said about how she finds inspiration for her works.

Her Gold Key piece “Hear Me?” is meant to capture an expression of a father scolding his daughter.

“To capture the expression perfectly, I made an effort to replay the scene over and over in my head while drawing,” Peng explained.

Le, who received an Honorable Mention in last year’s regional competition, continued her streak by earning the same recognition for her piece “Spring Wishes,” which portrays the simplicity of the interaction between a blossoming yellow lily and an innocent hummingbird.

MSMS art teacher Angie Jones helped the students enter the art contest. Jones expressed enthusiasm for their achievements in the program.

“I am always excited to see our students excel in the Arts. The artistic abilities of our students are often amazing and always deserving of praise. Scholastic Art and Writing is a great way to showcase our talents and receive awards along with scholarships,” she said.

The artists also share an optimistic reaction overall.

“I feel honored as it is to win anything at the first level, but it would be very exciting to go even further. I have high hopes for all of our MSMS winners!” Owings stated.

“Art has always been a passion of mine so winning this award definitely provides some encouragement for a continuation of this passion in the future,” Peng expressed.

While appreciative of the award, Le views art as more of a hobby and shows content with enjoying the surprises of the creative pastime.

For the Scholastic Writing division, nine students earned the Gold Key for their works: seniors Stephanie Dauber, Aidan Dunkelberg, Alex Monterde, Jackson Sparkman, Hayden Stokley, Sarah Swiderski and Mariat Thankachan; juniors Victoria Gong and Helen Peng.

Gong, who has received Gold Keys in the past prior to entering high school, also earned special recognition as an “American Voices” nominee. Her work will be sent off for national adjudication in the American Voices category.

Gong’s piece was largely inspired by family and from reading other novels.

“One of the most striking and influential works I read this year was ‘The Kite Runner,’” Gong elaborated. “I can’t stress enough how important reading other people’s—ideally, published—writing is. It really inspired my thoughts and style.”

Dunkelberg and Monterde were awarded a Gold Key and a Silver Key, respectively, for their submission in the competitive Senior Portfolio category,

Dunkelberg, who received an Honorable Mention for his poetry collection in last year’s regional competition, commented on his works’ inspiration.

“A lot of my writing draws on my experiences with my grandparents and how they and I interact with place and the passage of time,” Dunkelberg explains. “I feel like it’s naturally easy to write about these experiences because they stand apart from the rest of my memories.”

MSMS Creative Writing teacher Emma Richardson proudly endorsed his achievement.

“Aidan is such a fine writer in all of the genres that we practice in Creative Writing,” Richardson explained. “He has a deftness of touch and a sureness of style, whether it’s poetry, essays or creative short stories.”

Richardson helped the students enter the writing contest. She has facilitated the MSMS student entries since the mid-1990s and has seen a fair number of student national winners. With the number of Gold Key winners this year, she is optimistic about the school’s chances of producing a national medalist.

With the cost of entry fees as a financial obstacle in the registration process, Richardson says that she is grateful to the school for supporting the student writers in their endeavors.

“Our school underwrote the cost of the entry fees, which I appreciated. It meant that the students could submit what they wanted to,” Richardson said. “Some students might have otherwise struggled to submit several pieces with the entry fee. I would like to thank Mrs. Brown and the school for supporting our creative writing students.”

All regional winners are invited to the Regional Awards Ceremony on April 15th to receive their awards at the Eudora Welty House and Gardens in Jackson, MS.

For more information on the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, visit http://www.artandwriting.org/.