Featured Student Artist: Meagan Wu

Meagan Wu is a 17-year-old rising senior at Canyon Crest Academy (CCA) high school in San Diego, California. She was selected as a Top Ten Winner for her colored pencil drawing, “Floral Beauty.”  Meagan’s art was chosen as one of the ten best in all of North America out of thousands of entries submitted. Her art was featured and published in our Spring 2013 anthology.

Meagan has developed as an aspiring young artist through recognition as a multitalented individual and intellectually engaged student. She has made many accomplishments both as an artist and musician who has performed in Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center, and soloed with orchestras. Meagan recently attended the prestigious Marie Walsh Sharpe Art Foundation Summer Seminar at Colorado College with full scholarship as one of 60 gifted high school juniors nationwide, drawing and painting in the mountains under the daily tutelage of guest artists Don Coen and Barbara Friedman.

Meagan became avidly interested in art at a young age and has the National Youth Art Competition, California State PTA, San Diego County Fair Youth Art Show, Regional Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, and has had her artwork displayed in the San Diego Art Institute Museum of the Living Artist for three years. Her art consists of work from her AP Drawing class, free time, and CCA Envision Visual Arts (EVA) Conservatory under the guidance of Jessica Matthes, who says: “Meagan has been one of our star students in EVA day classes and in Conservatory.  She has an extremely high level of skill and creativity and especially excels at painting.  I have been lucky enough to have Meagan in several of my classes and she always goes above and beyond in every project”.

Meagan especially loves to draw human figures, and is inspired by music she listens to and history. She focuses on hyperrealism. “Art encourages me to observe beyond a superficial expression or subjective experience. It allows me to give it my own story, which is just as exciting as viewing the finished piece.”

We asked Meagan to share her inspiration as well as her future aspirations:

“I especially like ‘Floral Beauty‘ because it has so many intricacies: the flower petals’ delicate hues, the reflection in the golden vase, the countless folds of the tablecloth…It’s more than just flowers, and is quite mesmorizing. I drew ‘Floral Beauty’ because I am intensely engrossed by such fine details, and the setup/composition tested my hand with detail to the maximum. Somehow, working on minute elements doesn’t hurt my patience because I know how much such concentration contributes to the piece as a whole. Many people assume that realism like in still lives and portraits is undermined by photography. But I will always believe that realistic art undermines photographs, since artists use their own hands and a priceless determination to recreate reality. It is this diligence that illustrates just how precious art can be. It my delight in sketching even random things I see when travelling or at home that has made me so much keener. I hope that I can develop my art further by incorporating even more unique concepts and meaningful stories that cannot be told in words. I know that I will continue my artistic, and musical, pursuits after high school.”

Meagan also loves to play the cello, and has demonstrated her musical skill by winning various competitions from the local to international level including 1st Prize in the H.B. Goodlin Scholarship Auditions, American Protégé International Music Talent Competition, MTAC Concerto Competition, MTAC VOCE Competition, Satori Strings Competition, International Youth Praise Competition; and 2nd Prize in American Fine Arts Festival International Concerto Competition and Era of Romantic Music Competition, Cal-Poly All-State Music Festival Solo Competition, Grossmont Music Scholarship Auditions, and more. Furthermore, Meagan loves to serve her community through performances at senior/retirement houses, nursing homes, libraries, and fundraising events. Meagan enjoys the challenge of balancing her art, music, and academics with equal devotion.

Congratulations, Meagan, on not only being selected as a Top Ten Winner for the Spring 2013 art contest, but for your incredible achievements in both the fine and performing arts. We wish you the best in your bright future, and thank you for inspiring others with your beautiful talent.

To learn more about our national art contest, visit www.CelebratingArt.com.

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Featured Student Artist: Caroline Daigle

Caroline is a 6th grader studying at LJ Alleman Middle School and Fine Arts Academy in Louisiana.  Her art, “Lucy“, was selected as a Top Ten Winner in the Spring 2013 national art contest.

“Lucy” is very special to Caroline, as she did a lot of research before painting her.  Caroline was dressing Lucy in attire from around the 1930s-1940s.  She researched shoes from that era and even a clock in that era.  Caroline used her creativity and wanted to have Lucy wear fishnet stockings and wanted to put a teddy bear with only one eye.  The painting was very well planned and took over three months for her to paint.

For the future, Caroline plans to make good grades, go to an art college, and be a famous artist.  Caroline is already selling prints of her original paintings.

To learn more about our national art contests, visit www.CelebratingArt.com.

Printing the Books

“Where is my book?!  I ordered it over a week ago!”

Summer is upon us and most schools are now on vacation.  For our company, this is the busy season as we check every entry before creating the layout of the books.  We often receive calls asking why a book was not received since it was “ordered over a week ago”.  The process of creating a professionally bound hard-back book is not as easy going to a copy center and pressing print.  As a publisher, we work on making sure every student that gives permission is included in the book.  We check every name to make sure they are spelled correctly.  It is amazing how many parents and students give permission and their student’s name is spelled differently on the proofsheet and was not corrected.  This occurs after the deadline as we have to wait for the mail to receive all permission forms.  We then we work on the layout in creating the books.  The books are then sent to a printer and binder to be put together.  This last step takes almost a month to complete.  The books are then sent media mail in order to have the lowest shipping for our customers.

While students are enjoying their vacation and teachers are getting their classrooms ready for next year, we are working to create books that you can be proud to share with family and friends.  Thank you participating in our program and have a great summer.

Make Being Published an Event!

As the art judging is finished I always feel a bit guilty when I come across a school with an extremely high acceptance rate.  But sometimes a teacher is just great and his or her students create wonderful work.

There are a few schools that I look forward to judging. Palmer Catholic Academy in Ponte Vedra Beach in Florida is one of those schools who I find it a joy to see the students’ art.  Katie Corrigan has created a program there where her students create wonderful images.  Her elementary school watercolors are above grade level and just plain fun.

She sent an email this week with the following pictures and message:

I can’t tell you how happy I am to see how many of our students “made the cut”! I’ve opted to wait for the postcards before sharing the news so they have something in hand to take home but it is a hard secret to keep. I couldn’t remember if I sent the attached photos to you upon receipt of last year’s good news and book arrival so I am attaching them now. I thought you might like to see some of the proud second grade artists with the book opened to their paintings. As the cards arrived shortly before the last day of school I had given letters to the students and used the cards to decorate our lobby bulletin board. The students took them home on the last day but had a chance to shine being recognized there first.
 
Thank you again for your wonderful book! We are thrilled to be a part of it.
 
With gratitude,
Katie Corrigan
Art Teacher
Palmer Catholic Academy

Thank you Katie.  In judging high schools that do work at a level much lower than your 4th graders, you are making a difference and changing lives.  We are glad to be here as a way to give your art an audience.  Hopefully being published provides an extra spark as we work together to create live long artists.
 
 Tom Worthen, Ph.D.

Take a look at the work of the young artists of tomorrow

We have had the comment that our winners are too good and that there is no way a student could do art that is that good. We disagree. Yes, the winners are good. That is why they are winners. Their work is far above their grade level. When you have thousands of entries, then the “Mozart of Art” (a child prodigy) is often among the entries. For each winner, before giving the awards, we verify with his or her art teacher and parent or guardian. This year we had a kindergartner who was a top ten winner, that could have been entered in a high school contest.  I called her teacher and spoke to her, and yes, this student is a child prodigy.  Take a look at our winners right here:  http://www.celebratingart.com/about-us.php