- Fine Arts Department
- Homepage
KISD Art Students Earn 10 Gold Medals at State Visual Art Event
Over the weekend, 21 Killeen ISD high school students, along with their art teachers, participated in the biggest annual high school art competition in the state of Texas and brought home a stash of gold.
State V.A.S.E (Visual Art Scholastic Event) was held at San Marcos High School by T.A.E.A. (Texas Art Educators Association).
Student artists began the competition season at the regional level, hosted Feb. 18 at Harker Heights High School, with Regional Director and KISD art teacher Julie Smith organizing the event.
Students worked for months fine-tuning their art pieces for the regional event.
Ellison High School’s double state qualifier and State Gold Medalist Rowan Crispin said, “I came up with an original idea for Mr. Wenzel and when it was almost finished, Mrs. Greenway asked me to make a piece for her as well. The idea behind that one is called 2 sisters, which is based off of a game my sister and I used to play.”
Of the 191 adjudicated entries in Region 12, a total of 185 entries received medals and 21 KISD students earned state qualifier status.
This is a significant increase of successful participation in comparison to last year’s results. Out of 32,000 entries throughout the state, approximately 2,000 entries qualified at the state level.
This year, at State VASE, 10 KISD students earned a gold medal for their artwork.
Medalists include:
- 5 Harker Heights students: Akailah Bridges, Cailyn Foster, Elliya Kent, Zoe Lozano, and June Lee
- 2 Chaparral students: Angela Barzana and Leila Sinkler
- 1 Ellison High student: Rowen Crispin
- 1 Shoemaker High student: Andrea Munguia
- 1 Killeen High student: Royale Cross
State VASE medalist and Chaparral High student Angela Barzana said, “Usually at school I am too busy studying for my exams, so this was a really nice change of pace.”
“Competing in VASE inspires me to improve my skills as an artist and be more creative,” said
Ellison High School senior Koty Caralos.
She earned state qualifier status her freshman, junior and senior year.
“For both of my medalists (Akailah Bridges and Cailyn Foster), this was their first year experiencing high school VASE and I’m really proud of their hard work,” said Don McNiesh, Harker Heights High School art teacher.
Killeen ISD VASE art students also get to participate in a trip the day prior to the competition.
This field experience, which Killeen ISD supports, gives students an opportunity to explore a variety of art at the professional level and learn about creative careers.
Students first stop was at an immersive art gallery known as Wonder Spaces where they got to explore contemporary interactive art ranging from virtual reality to visual/auditory stimuli.
Next, they traveled to the University of Texas Austin campus to the Harry Ransom Museum where they got to learn about art connections in the filmmaking industry and view artifacts like one of the last complete surviving Gutenberg Bibles and masterpieces such as an original Frida Kahlo painting.
Their last stop was at the Women and their Work art gallery where students got to view artwork by local women who utilized unique color schemes. They finished the day with a hands-on workshop using acrylic paint.
KISD Assistant Fine Arts Director Morganne Davies commented, “I am very proud of the work our students and our teachers have put in. I think VASE provides students with an opportunity to develop their own artistry and style. This event allows them to come together to be inspired by other students achieving at the same level.”
Next year’s Regional VASE event will be held at Harker Heights High School on February 17, 2024.
Huge thanks to Michelle Greenway, a talented writer and photographer, as well as a supurb art teacher at Ellison High School