By Virginia Cooper

Recently, we have had plenty of students from the Farm represent us at the Jeffco Schools Scholastic Awards of 2014.

Both seniors Chris Mora and AJ Oehm, were honored with the Gold Key Portfolio Award, which they competed for district-wide. These two students will go on to compete in the Scholastics Art and Writing Awards at a national level, and winners will be announced March 17.

Mora says, “I am content . . . I was told beforehand that [the award] was pretty unpredictable, so I didn’t get my hopes up.” Despite his doubts Mora was honored with a very selective award and his inspiration comes from, “robots. [They] have always been a fascination of mine.”

Wheat Ridge was highly favored in the competition with four individuals receiving a Gold Key Individual award. Seniors Emileo Garcia, Tarryn Wilson, and Chloe Maes, as well as junior Austin Hawley were honored with the award.

Garcia says, “The project was called Inside My Head. From there on we had to pick a place where we felt comfortable for the head. I drew an explosion-like effect to represent that I’m always thinking . . . like my mind was ‘over thinking’; it’s funny because that’s the title I gave it.” Garcia was speculative that he would receive the award, but he was happy he did.

Wilson entered her piece Ralph and Silvia Waggoner as part of a 12 piece series for her AP Studio Art portfolio, and to her surprise she obtained the award. Wilson says, “I had no idea that I would get a gold key. There are so many rad student artists these days with so many amazing ideas plus talent.”

Hawley wasn’t really aware that the Gold Key award was significant, but once he found out he was really excited. He says that his inspiration for the Inside My Head project came from La Jolla Beach in San Diego, CA, as it is one of his favorite places.

Maes was uncertain that she would receive the award and says, “Especially after seeing what other students had sent in . . . I was shocked to hear I won at all.” Maes also wants to extend her thanks to art teacher Franky Scaglione “for making me think outside the box and helping me get closer to being the artist I want to be.”

Senior Sean Sullivan entered his photography portfolio into the competition and came out gaining two awards, the Silver Portfolio and an Honorable Mention Portfolio. Sullivan credits his artistic style of photographing “thirty to one hundred images in a complete 360 degree view to create a panorama . . . from an alumnus of Wheat Ridge.” The style is different in that the images are somewhat manipulated to create a “planet effect.”

Both senior Derek Dasovich and junior Skyler Basta also secured an Individual Honorable Mention award.

Dasovich, a photography student, was satisfied with the award, and says, “It’s not necessarily about the reward but more of the recognition of talent.” His inspiration for the piece Liver came from things in regular day-to-day life that are usually overlooked.

The awards don’t end there; the Farm also has three students representing us at another show, The Jeffco Schools Foundation Equity and Excellence Art Exhibit. Senior Cody Strickler and juniors Jasslyn Cessario and Erin Dalton will have their pieces featured at the show and up for sale. The show will be at the Jeffco Public Schools Education Center and the public is invited to celebrate the artists’ work on Friday March 14 from 5 to 7 pm. The students were selected to enter a piece that displays cultural and social diversity.

Cessario was excited to be selected, and her work showcases her idea of social diversity. The piece is a “sugar skull with vines kind of cradling the skull representing what I am on the outside grows from what I truly am on the inside being Mexican and not looking like it.”

Dalton also was caught by surprise when she was selected. Her piece represents her culture and heritage. Dalton says, “The picture is my great-great-grandmother fishing in Iowa with her son,” Dalton illustrated this piece by using, “abstract lines to represent the clouds and different movement to show the water.”

Strickler will also be featured in the show and display his talent and cultural origins. Strickler was doubtful he would get the award. His piece will be “muscle fading into bones of the skull with a Hispanic pattern throughout the skull, emphasizing that heritage is inside all of us.”

From the staff here on the Haystack to all of the award winners, we say congratulations and thank you for representing the Farm with your talent!