Republic High School’s art students dominated competition at the Central Ozark Conference art show this year. Republic students took Best in Show and captured one-third of all the first- and second-place ribbons.
Republic art teacher Holly Goodwin said it’s rewarding to see her students compete and succeed, especially given her own competitive spirit.
“I am a very competitive person by nature who always wants to do my best, show my best artwork, and be a good example of what a professional artist should be to my students. I really enjoy seeing them grow in confidence month by month and believe in their own talent! Towards the end of the school year, they talk about their work like mature artists and how their work will compare to other students in other districts like Nixa and Ozark,” Goodwin said. “The best part is seeing the pride on their face when they see the ribbons hanging on their pieces and knowing they have been validated by other professional artists.”
Danielle Morris was one of Republic’s top winners, placing first in both Graphic Design and Computer Art. One of her pieces was a digital art piece based on the video game Skyrim that included more than 200 different layers and lighting elements.
“If you look closely at it, every hair on the horse that the person is riding is on there. I did everything in black and white first so I could get the shading right,” Morris said. “There’s a lot of detail that goes into it… to make it as realistic as possible.”
Despite being new to digital art, Morris said she enjoys it, especially with the success she’s experienced. “I’ve been doing digital for a little over a year, so I’m very surprised at how much I’ve progressed in working with it… I want to … because I’ve been told that I have a chance. I need to get myself out there if I want to make this a career for myself.”
Hailey Saunders swept the 3D design category, taking first and second. She created two pieces with the theme “Ocean Conservation.” One piece was a fish tank that included a hand sculpted from clay. The other was a whale with a special nod to her theme.
“I also entered a whale made of trash. I made the sculpture out of chicken wire, then I wove plastic Walmart sacks through it and added extra trash,” she said. “My theme is ocean conservation, so… I used trash that’s mainly found in the ocean–what you hear about the most–and made the whale out of that to symbolize the trash ends up making up the whale because of how much they consume.”
Saunders said she doesn’t think she hasn’t found her art “niche” yet, “but I like sculpture. I like how many possibilities there are. You don’t have to use one specific thing.”
Like Morris, Saunders said her success at art shows has her thinking more about future art competitions, which she enjoys entering. “I like that other people can see my art and enjoy it. It’s not just my mom and my art teacher,” she said.
Here’s a full list of winners from RHS at the COC Art Show:
Morgan Keith: 1st Place Jewelry and Best of Show
Emily Hazlett: 2nd Place Printmaking and 3rd Place Sculpture
Danielle Morris: 1st Place Graphic Design and 1st Place Computer Art
Aurelia Koon: Honorable Mention Digital Photography Black and White
Sydney Weaver: 1st place Digitally Manipulated Photography
Savannah Whitehead: 2nd place Digitally Manipulated Photography
Hailey Saunders: 1st Place and 2nd Place 3D Design
Matthew Alcorn: 2nd Place Sculpture
Cera Pankey: 2nd Place Film Photography Color Professionally Developed
Britney Spangenberg: 2nd Place Graphite Drawing and 3rd Place Watercolor Painting
Tiarra Pengilly: 1st Place Textile Design and Honorable Mention Watercolor Painting
Hunter Woodring: 1st Place Acrylic Painting
Lyle Chafa: 2nd Place Textile Design and 3rd Place Acrylic Painting
