Congratulations to Eliza Henneberry ’15 of Canaan and Caitlin Smith ’15 of Delmar, who represented Doane Stuart at the 2015 Congressional Art Competition. Eliza won 2nd place for her piece “Akakaw” and Caitlin won an honorable mention for her piece ‘Mason Sunrise.” Only five awards were given: three honorable mentions, one second place and one first place prize. It is a testament to Eliza and Caitlin, as well as the DS art program, to have Doane Stuart earn two out of the five awards at this prestigious competition! This is made even more impressive since the 2015 Congressional set the record for the most student submissions.
Eliza, Caitlin, their families and Mrs. Case attended a reception hosted by Congressman Paul Tonko D-NY 20th District on Friday, May 8 at the Arts Center of the Capital Region in Troy.
From the Congressional Art Competition website http://www.house.gov/content/educate/art_competition/:
“Each spring, the Congressional Institute sponsors a nationwide high school visual art competition to recognize and encourage artistic talent in the nation and in each congressional district. Since the Artistic Discovery competition began in 1982, more than 650,000 high school students have participated.
Students submit entries to their representative’s office, and panels of district artists select the winning entries. Winners are recognized both in their district and at an annual awards ceremony in Washington, DC. The winning works are displayed for one year at the U.S. Capitol.”
Eliza’s piece, “Akakaw,” earned the highest finish for a Doane Stuart student at a Congressional. Previously, Emy Blohm ’13 earned an honorable mention at the 2012 Congressional for her 3D paper collage piece entitled “Stream of Consciousness” (currently displayed on the wall outside the Corning Conference Room).
Eliza Henneberry ‘15
“Akakaw” – 2nd Place
Charcoal, 16” x 20”
“Akakaw is a self-portrait, made in charcoal and blended with my fingers. It is the second in an ongoing series of portraits. The title in Quechua for “how sad,” which is a pun both on my melodramatic expression in the piece, and how the last syllable is pronounced as “cow.” Can you find the hidden cow in the shadows?”
Caitlin Smith ‘15
“Mason Sunrise” – Honorable Mention
acrylic on canvas, 17” x 31”
“For my piece, I used acrylic paint on canvas. I first took a photo of a few jars set up when the sun was just beginning to rise. I wanted to capture the light coming through the mason jars with lots of color to give the painting a fluid feel, so that the many color defined the shapes and details of the jars.”
Congratulations, Eliza and Caitlin. Your work is a perfect example of what Doane Stuart does so well in the arts: talented student-artists benefiting from experienced teaching and guidance from our impressive faculty. We are proud to celebrate what Doane Stuart students create each year, at all grade levels.