Murphy – The Cherokee County Arts Council hosted a lively awards ceremony for talented local student artist on April 21 at their large gallery in the E.C. Moore building.
Despite the hot temperatures, students and community members packed the gallery to view the artwork and honor the winners. David Vowell, executive director of the council, acted as the master of ceremonies, awarding each winner a small scholarship and bragging rights among their peers.
Joe West, a senior at Hiwassee Dam High School, placed second with his nature photograph of a local waterfall.
“I was very surprised to win,” West said. “I really just like to take time to go outside and look around. We live in such a beautiful place.”
Another Hiwassee Dam student, 13-year-old seventh-grader Sarah Rathbone, took second place for her untitled digital painting of a girl falling through darkness.
“Sometimes we fall into our own mind; it’s a way to understand who we are,” she explained.
A less contemplative artist – Trista Allison, 17 – won first place for her quirky clay sculpture “The Sheriff.” The junior at Murphy High School loved making the piece.
“My favorite parts are the sheriff’s star and belt buckle because they are shiny,” she pointed out. “I made him goofy looking on purpose. It was mom’s idea to have him bowlegged, like he had been riding a horse for a long time.”
Another young artist from Hiwassee Dam – Jeanavis Perry, 15 – didn’t win a prize, but her work appeared to be a favorite at the showing. Her digital art, “Spritzee” featured bright pink colors with a translucent Pokémon.
“I wanted to create my own version, a different version,” she said.
Tri-County Early College High School Principal Jason Forrester attended the event to honor his high achieving students. The students performed very well in the contest.
“Durden Hutcher (sophomore) won first place in Drawing, (fifth year) Hayden Curran won first place in Painting and Ever Templeton (senior) won Best in Show for Mixed Media,” he said with pride.
Forrester touted their success, in part, to art teacher Ray Kaylor’s enthusiastic approach.
“We have both a talented teacher and talented students,” Forrester said. “Art is essential to education. It synthesizes creativity with individual application.”
The student artists showed great skill in applying their creativity. One of Forrester’s students, Laci Jump, won the $500 Lalone Scholarship Award, the top honor of the evening.
“The artists are able to show reflections of our society,” Forrester said.
Murphy High School also fared well in the contest. Carlee Catuto, 17, won Best in Show for Painting with her piece, “The Woman,” an intriguing charcoal showing the face of a young woman whose eyes look expectant but whose mouth feels poised for disappointment.
“I just made the face up from my head,” Catuto said. “I really like her freckles.”
Andrews middle-schooler, Ava Burchfield won first place in Three-Dimensional Art with her pottery sculpture “Tea Cow.” The work features a miniature cow resting inside a tea saucer.
“Mr. Paris (Andrew’s art teacher) was really excited for me when I won,” Ava said. “I made the cow, called Tea, in the Chinese tradition of pouring tea over a family pet to honor the gods.”