Beginning concept sketches and design ideas in December, various art students are creating individual art pieces to be entered in the Visual Art Scholastic Event on Feb. 24. The results from last year helped skyrocket the enthusiasm within students and teachers in the art department.

“We did really well last year and the goal is to get all of our entries to advance to the state level,” art teacher Shea Phillips said. “We have a lot of people entering pieces this year and I believe it’ll be a huge success.”

Last year, only two students advanced to the state level and now individuals aim to reach higher in their end goal of earning the highest reward: The Gold Seal. After weeks of drawing, painting and adding final touches, a multitude of students are gaining neverending conviction to succeed with unleashing their creative minds.

“After my piece advanced, I gained more confidence in my creative abilities,” junior Maryanne Garcia said. “This year, I’m aiming to do a sculpture that conveys a significant meaning that I think will resonate with today’s youth and other audiences.”

Tough obstacles concerning trying to stand out are being eased with less participants in the competition. The students will have more freedom in their pieces to bring their art full circle while maintaining the imagination that manifested from their mind.

“There’s less competition since not as many schools are choosing to participate,” sophomore Anolyn Keenum said. “Our pieces are now going to stand out more to the judges as our school is entering more pieces than in previous years.”

Optimism surrounding the competition give students the boost of confidence needed to persevere and complete their pieces.

“Hopefully the hard work from all the art students will translate to us gaining high scores just like last year,” Garcia said. “We’ve been preparing for so long and the competition will really show off how advanced of the artists have become.”