By MARTI ROSE SHANKER
JHS juniors Stephanie Chen and Rebecca Yu both won awards in the 2014 International Student Art Contest, a unique competition that challenges students in grades K-12 to create art in any medium that addresses the theme, ”My Spaceship Looks Like…” It is sponsored by Artsonia, an online student art museum, and The Space Foundation, a global, nonprofit organization that seeks to bring space into the classroom “to advance space-related endeavors to inspire, enable and propel humanity.”
A.P. Art student Rebecca Yu received a certificate, a ribbon, and a set of oil paints for her first place entry in the 15-16 year age division. Yu says her artwork “was heavily inspired by the works of Dave Struzan” whose impressive portfolio includes movie posters famous for being the faces of films such as the two Star Wars trilogies, the Indiana Jones trilogy, and the Harry Potter series. On the process of creating her piece, Yu said, “I used acrylic and then I used colored pencil over it to strengthen the values. The piece took me nine hours to complete.”
A.P. Photo student Stephanie Chen won the prestigious Space Foundation Achievement Award out of over 7,000 submissions from 54 countries. For her strenuous efforts, she was rewarded a certificate, a ribbon, and a personalized autograph from astronaut Dr. Leroy Chiao. Chen created her piece by using a black Sharpie to draw designs over a photo of her sneakers, and then editing in a galactic background. Chen said, “I was honestly so surprised to find out that I won my award. It was really exciting to be recognized, and it was a great experience.”
JHS photo teacher Ms. Louise Millmann likewise was pleased when she first found out that her student had won such a prestigious award. “Stephanie is a very talented artist and I am very proud of her accomplishments,” Ms. Millmann said. “I was very happy that all my students participated in this wonderful competition.”
The JerEcho congratulates Yu and Chen on their accomplishments. Both artists will travel to Colorado in May to see their artwork displayed at the International Space Foundation Symposium.
