Students competed in the Visual Arts Scholastic Event (VASE) with freshman Bernadette Malmgren advancing to the State competition in San Marcos April 26-27. There were only 10 division one pieces sent from our Region to the State meet with 45 pieces total being sent.

“VASE is a challenging and rigorous competition that requires hours of time creating the work, filling out the paperwork for the entry process and time interviewing with the juror,” art teacher Rebecca Harrison said. “it teaches students patience, perseverance and diligence in addition to pushing them to create their very best work.”

Malmgren competed with a piece called Citrus Scene. At the State competition, Malmgren will participate in various workshops and will receive her final ranking.

“I’ve been competing in VASE since freshman year and advanced to state as a sophomore,” senior Julia Montgomery said. “It’s so hard to advance to state and I’m so happy that Bernadette gets to experience it.”

In the competition, students work on their art pieces throughout the year and present them to a judge at the regional level. In this interview, students explain pieces and the process behind creating them. The judge will then decide if the pieces will advance to the next level of competition.

“I love to see students work diligently through all the paperwork and processes to create a completely original piece of artwork that they then have the opportunity to explain to a trained juror,” Harrison said. “Coaching them so that they can speak thoughtfully and completely about their work is very rewarding.”

A total of nine students advanced to the Area level and four advanced to the Regional level. Students worked on these pieces for over four months. There are two categories in the VASE competition, 2D and 3D. 

“My favorite part of this competition was being able to have fun with my friends and being able to see multiple other art pieces,” sophomore Mya Villalobos said. “My piece was made entirely out of paper quills and represents a Mexican painted guitar.”

There are a total of four levels of competition, Regionals, Area, State and Gold Medallion.  The Gold Medallion level usually encompasses around .01% of the total pieces entered into the Regional competition. 

“I could not be more proud of them and their work,” Harrison said. “ It is, in my estimation, equivalent to UIL in both numbers and rigor.”