Calvin Laituri:
Which awards did you win?
I won two Gold Keys (one digital art and one film), two Silver Keys (one drawing and one digital art) and three Honorable Mentions (one portfolio, one digital art and one drawing).

Was this the first year you entered? Was this the first year you won something?
The first time I entered something was sophomore year. I entered something like seven pieces and won four Gold, one Silver. One of those Gold winners eventually won a National Silver Medal, which was an unexpected surprise. I was invited to go to New York for an award ceremony, which was really cool, but I wasn’t able to go because I had SATs that day. I wish I could have gone. Most of what I submitted back then was photography; I’ve since moved on to other media.

Are you currently taking an art class?
Yes, I’m taking AP Art. I’ve taken art for all four years of high school.

What inspired you to make the pieces of artwork you entered?
Lots of different things inspire my art. Sometimes I just happen to be driving through town or walking through a park, and I see a location that I want to paint or draw. Other times I’ll be walking through a museum and see some aspect of a piece of work or some technique that I want to try out for myself. Some days I’ll just have a vision of some piece of art that I want to make, and I just start working. I find inspiration almost anywhere.

Shae Comettant:
Which awards did you win?
I won an Honorable Mention.

Was this the first year you entered? Was this the first year you won something?
This was the first year I entered a piece in the Scholastic Awards.

Are you currently taking an art class?
Yes, I’m in Honors Art 3 right now.

What inspired you to make the pieces of artwork you entered?
When I was looking through my pictures from a trip that I took to Peru, I found one of a dog that we named Rico who followed us around the entire trip. I was feeling really nostalgic for Peru at that time and wanted to represent it somehow through my art. I thought that doing a drawing of Rico would be a good way to represent the trip because he was a very memorable aspect of it.

Larissa Sehringer:
Which awards did you win?
I won three Honorable Mentions, one Gold Key and a Silver Key for my entire portfolio.

Was this the first year you entered? Was this the first year you won something?
I’ve entered this contest all four years, but this year I received the most awards, which felt really redeeming since I had been coveting a Gold Key for a really long time.

Are you currently taking an art class?
I’m currently taking AP Art.

What inspired you to make the pieces of artwork you entered?
I created this piece as a piece in a set of three, which I was required to make for the Parsons challenge, part of my college application. I was initially required to choose something that is overlooked, so I chose twisty ties, which represent closure to me. For the challenge as a whole, each piece in my series represents mind over matter and a different coping stage. I wanted this dress to be form-fitting with triangles to show the different directions that closure can take. I also intended it to be flattering on my model, as closure beautifies; it benefits the mind and soul, creating a happier person and supporting the mind over matter. In this photographed scene, the only remnants of the car are broken pieces that were left to rot. The problems that were attached were left to decay; they were never closed up. Essentially, our issues become trash, rusting endlessly, until we muster up the courage to clean them up.